Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu
by Elennar
Summary: 5 year old Tezuka Kunimitsu has just started preschool. From school fight to tennis fight, making new friends, to learning new things, little Kunimitsu has new adventures and misadventures every year. Focused on the Tezuka family. Covers age 5 to 12, before Tezuka enters Seishun Gakuen Junior High School. (Now: Elem Year 1, Age 7)
1. Kunimitsu's introduction to Papa's Club

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 1 - Kunimitsu's introduction to Papa's club**

Saturday was a special day for young Tezuka Kunimitsu. His papa was going to bring him to his club. His friends from the office would be there with their wives and children. He had to be on extra good behaviour. Because his ojii-san said, a child's behaviour is a reflection on his parents. If he was a bad boy, it meant his papa and mama are bad parents. If he was a good boy, it meant they were good parents. So he had to be extra good, because he had extra good papa and mama. Everyone would know that. All they had to do was look at him.

"Kunimitsu!" his mama called.

He grabbed his favourite green ball and bade Ojiisan goodbye. He ran to the car and climbed into the front seat. He pulled the seat-beat straps over his chest and gave the metal end to his mama to secure. Then he reminded his papa to lock the doors and they were off.

Kunimitsu watched his mama bowed as his papa introduced her. When he heard his name, he bowed too, just like how his Ojiisan taught him. He remembered to put his hands at his side this time and not hold them together like mama. Ito-san praised him of being a good boy. His papa smiled proudly when he thanked the manager solemnly. Ojiisan said he must receive compliments with courtesy and humility. He did not really understand what that means, but he had a lot of practice receiving compliments at the dojo from Ojiisan's colleagues and students. Ito-san's wife spoilt it when she squealed, threw her arms around him, pinched his cheek and called him cute. He stiffened and looked at his mama with panicked eyes. He wanted to cry and hide in her skirts.

Tezuka Ayana saw her son's face started to crumple and came to his rescue. She knelt down and stroked his back gently to reassure him. She felt him lean back into her, away from Ito-san's wife. She was rather proud that he swallowed his distress and endured a few more seconds of fussing. Then, she deftly extricated her son before the woman noticed her son's rejection. She ushered him to the changing room as her husband and his manager turned towards the golf course.

Kunimitsu hung on to her skirt in a death grip. It was difficult for her to walk with him clinging so tightly. She knelt down and asked him if he wanted to be carried. He hesitated a moment before wrapping his arms around her neck. He had been rather reluctant about being carried since he started kindergarden. Not that she was complaining. At five years old, he was getting too heavy to be carried for long periods of time. But she missed holding his soft warm body and feel his hair tickling her neck. That was what he was doing now, clinging tightly to her neck and quietly burrowing his face into her shoulder. She rubbed his back, talking lightly about the wading pool and how much fun it was to play in the water.

He was always a quiet child, her Kunimitsu. He was an easy infant, quiet and alert. As he grew older, it frightened her sometimes how quiet he could be, compared to other children. She was worried that she would miss something. That he would not know how to cry for help or attention. She liked to think that she had become more adept at reading his moods now. The way he stiffened and withdrew when upset. The dull lethargic stillness when he was sick. The tight clinging grip when he was frightened. The way he sought to be cuddled when he was tired and sleepy. The intense stare and turning away snubbing when he was angry or rebellious. That one both amuse and frustrate her at the same time.

His homeroom teacher had told her one incident when he snubbed a noisy demanding classmate that way. She had laughingly admitted that she had expected a fist fight and shouting match, not a cold shoulder from boys his age. Ayana speculated that Kunimitsu must have imitated his grandfather. Whenever he became stubborn or in rare fits of tantrum, his grandfather would discipline him that way. Turning away and refusing to interact with him until he apologised and amended his behaviour. She had to admire her father-in-law's patience and iron-will. She could not bear to do that to her son, especially when he was too young to understand and became agitated and cried heart-brokenly.

At last, she could feel his joints unlock and his body relaxed. He unwind enough to ask if he could take his ball into the pool. She told him he had to share the ball with other children if he did. He thought about it while she changed him into his swimming suit. He decided he didn't want to share and gave her the ball to keep safe in her handbag.

There were four other children at the pool. One of the mothers had brought plastic water-guns for the children to play with. She gave them five identical water-guns, all in bright yellow colour. She joined Ayana under the umbrella shade, fanning herself. "Ahh ... It's a relief I bought enough today." When Ayana gave a questioning look, she grinned and said, "Only one child? Wait till you have two or three. If there's one with a different colour, size or shape, all the children will fight over it or refused to have it. The secret to harmonious outing is one for each child, of exactly the same thing. Then you spend less time pacifying sulky kids and breaking up fights." She gave Ayana a once over and turned back to the children. "I'm Masahiro Michiru. That boy in green is yours?" She pointed to Kunimitsu who was watching an older boy intently.

"Yes," said Ayana. "Kunimitsu is four and the half. But he insist he is five now. I am Tezuka Ayana."  
The woman giggled. "Mine are Kenji and Kiara." She pointed out the 8-year-old boy Kunimitsu was watching and the 6-year-old girl next to him. "Keiko is Asano-san's 8-year-old. The 3-year-old is Misamoto-san's Keiichi. Their mothers are at the tennis court. So I usually babysit for them at the pool until they finish their game. It's nice to have company."

Ayana smiled politely. She watched Kunimitsu gave his water-gun a puzzled look. Kenji had finished filling his water gun and test a few short spurts on his sister who screamed and retaliated with a full blast from hers.

Kunimitsu had not played with a water-gun before. He gave the trigger a few squeezes but nothing came out. He turned the toy a few times until he found the stopper. After a few failed clumsy attempts, he put it into his mouth and pulled it out with his teeth. "Kunimitsu!" Ayana called out, horrified he was putting unhygienic things into his mouth and leaving teeth marks. Her son looked up at her with a tilt that told her he was waiting for the verdict or a rule pronouncement. Michiru laughed and patted her hand. So Ayana merely shook her head in disapproval, but said nothing. Kunimitsu turned back to his task.

"He's a quick learner," Michiru said, watching Kunimitsu dipped his gun into the water.

He couldn't fit the stopper back in. He brought the end to his mouth again. He took one quick glance at his mother and changed his mind. He turned to the older children waging a three-way war. Kenji had dropped out to refill his gun again. He splashed his way to Kenji and thrust the gun into his face. "Close!" he demanded.

Kenji took the gun with a mischievous gleam. Knowing her son, Michiru cleared her throat in warning and levelled him a stern gaze. He shrugged and showed Kunimitsu how to push the tab back with his thumb. Kunimitsu tried the trigger again but nothing came out. He turned the gun around and squirt himself a faceful of water. Kenji fell over and laughed himself sick. Kunimitsu went still. He frowned at the offending yellow thing. Ayana stood up to retrieve him before he started storming, but Kenji got to him first. He tackled Kunimitsu into the water with a loud splash. Kunimitsu wiped water from his face. He looked up in surprise when Kenji mussed his wet hair and hand him his water-gun. "What are standing there for? Let's make the girls scream!" He gave a loud whoop and charged at the girls. Kunimitsu looked his mama and back at Kenji. Ayana gave him an encouraging smile. Seeing that Kenji wasn't getting scolded for yelling, he shouted and charged into the fray.

* * *

Note:  
Young Tezuka currently appeals to me so I thought I'd give it another spin. Plot-wise, I'm planning to come up with some history of how Tezuka started tennis and how he came to achieve Muga no kyouchi (State of Selflessness), Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami (Pinnacle of Hardwork) and Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami (Pinnacle of Great Wisdom). Maybe not Saiki. Will see how that works out.

Writting objective-wise, this is a challenge to myself to write a convincing introverted child character with minor application of learning theory and pre-adolescent developmental psychology theories. Also, my assessment is that Tezuka is an INTJ Mastermind, so yeah, my first INTJ child leftie.


	2. Dishonour

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 2 - Dishonour**

Tezuka Kunimitsu was in disgrace.

He had become one of those bad boys whose father had to be called to the headmaster's office. He thought it was really unfair. Because he wasn't being naughty. He didn't start the fight. He clenched his fist and willed himself not to cry. It really wasn't fair. The other boys started it, but they got to go home early. He had to stay behind and wait for the headmaster to say bad, disappointing things about him to his papa.

He rubbed his eyes to make sure they were dry. He thought he was doing the right thing. Now, sitting alone in the Nurse's office, he wasn't sure any more. He really didn't want to fight. Fighting is bad. But the boys from the other class took Mika-chan's spade and pulled her hair. Then Mika-chan cried. That was stealing and hurting other people. That was bad. Papa said Ojiisan catch those bad people and lock them in jail and throw away the keys. He told them to stop. Then they pulled his hair and shove him and pinched him. It really hurt. It made him angry.

They were bigger and stronger than him. So he only did what his Ojiisan told him to do in judo practice. Don't fight strength with force. He was smart, he was nimble and he was fast. All he had to do was flow with the movements of his opponent. Find the centre and gently direct it to where he wanted it to go. It was hard when there were three people hitting at him. He had only practised with one opponent. So he had to be careful and alert.

His execution of tsubame gaeshi* was neat and smooth. His first mae ukemi* was clumsy though. It wasn't like practice when he knew to expect a fall. The boy had pushed him and he couldn't react fast enough to break his fall properly. He played with the edges of the plaster on his knee. It wasn't like falling on the soft mat at the dojo. He scraped his knee on small stones in the grass playground. It bled and stung when nurse cleaned the wound and put yellow medicine on it.

He didn't use any katame waza* techniques. Ojiisan said not to do that outside the dojo. Their punches hurt though, those that he could not evade. He had a big bruise on his side. Nurse had pressed it, which hurt worse. Then she said there was nothing broken so he would be all right in a few days. He thought he gave as good as he got. He didn't hit anyone. He did throw the other boys down. One hit his head and cried. The others had scratches and bruises all over.

Did that mean he is bad now he had hurt other people? He didn't get hurt much when he was thrown around in practice. He puzzled over it. He liked being thrown around. It was fun. Sometimes it felt like flying and then all his breath whooshed out. It hurt a bit when he didn't break fall properly. Maybe the boys didn't practice falling down properly. Maybe he used too much force. Ojiisan said an unskilled person use too much force and created unnecessary harm. He needed more practice to be better so he could learn to control and limit his force.

His classmates thought he was some kind of hero and his teachers thought he was a villain. He didn't want to be either one. He didn't know who was right or wrong. He felt more and more confused. It really was unfair!

He checked the door again. He wished mama would come collect him like she did everyday. He wanted mama very badly. But Nurse told him that the headmaster had called his papa to come, so his mama would not come today.

He did not want his papa. He had to wait till his papa finished work at the office to come get him. That was why he was the only one left, with nurse and teachers. The other boys and girls had gone home with their mama. He sniffled a little and rubbed his eyes again. He wanted his mama. He must not cry. He had to believe he did the right thing for the right reasons. He was right. He just had to make his papa believe that.

What if his papa did not believe him? The headmaster was meeting his papa first. Papa would believe the headmaster and Nigita-sensei. They were grown up. Grown up's words always carry more weight than little boys like him. Maybe that was why sensei believed the other boys. They were older and more grown up than him. He had to grow up more so his words would have more weight. They felt light as air now. Without substance, without weight, his words had no importance. He had to grow up like Ojiisan. Ojiisan's words were very heavy. Papa and mama and the people in the dojo all listened to Ojiisan and followed his words. They listened to little Kunimitsu too, when he spoke politely and slowly. Although they did not always follow his words, they believe his words.

He had to act like Ojiisan when papa comes. Maybe his words would have a little more weight. Maybe his papa will believe a little bit more this time. He rubbed his eyes and corrected his posture. He could hear papa's footsteps outside. It was time.

* * *

Note:  
Ahahaha … so much analytical thinking for a little kid.

I'm not a Judo expert so if I got anything wrong, please let me know. Hope it didn't get too boring. I got a bit carried away after reading about the philosophy and techniques in Judo.

* Tsubame Gaeshi - Swallow Counter is a judo/ninjutsu counter and throw technique involving ankle hook and throwing to the side. It is also a sword cutting technique by Sasaki Kojirou. There are lots of Otoshi in judo, just no Higuma Otoshi that I could find. I did find Yama Arashi of Tooyama Kintarou's Daisharin Yamaarashi. :D

* Mae ukemi - Forward fall, a break fall technique.

* Katame-waza is a class of grappling techniques which consists off pin, joint lock and choke/strangle. Pinning is not useful when you weigh 10kg against 70kg adults. It is more practical to break grip, throw and run. Armbars and Joint Locking can be painful and harmful to someone not trained to receive it. Choke/strangle hold is an advance category that can be dangerous if done wrongly. It causes blackout if done right, death if done wrong. No way a 5-year-old is going to be taught that.


	3. Aftermath

**Chapter 3 - Aftermath**

Tezuka Kuniharu walked into the Nurse's office to find a boy sitting stiffly in seiza with the fiercest looking face burning holes into the wall. "Kunimitsu," he called gently. "Let's go."

He walked stiffly next to his father, head held high, looking like a condemned martyr. Kuniharu wanted to tickle and tease him for he looked so adorable and serious. But he was in the school yard and he had to look the part of a father about to impart important lessons to his wayward son. He held the door open for Kunimitsu to climb in. He helped him put his school bag into the backseat and fasten his seat-belt. It was a five-minute drive home from the kindergarden. Ayana normally walked the short route with Kunimitsu. That day, he drove past the house-gate and made a long circle around their neighbourhood. Kunimitsu turned to him a few times but remained silent. He thought his son looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn't quite find the words.

He was not a patient man like his father. He would be the first person to admit that. He did not like too much silence and solemnity. In his personal opinion, little boys should not behave like they were facing death sentence. He sighed and wondered what he should do as a father. It still amazed him that he was a father. Ayana made it so easy for him. She slipped into motherhood like she was born into it. There was little that he needed to do for his son. He never needed to changed a diaper or stay up at all night with a fussy infant. Kunimitsu was born when he was in his mid-thirties. Even then, he thought he was not quite ready to be a responsible adult and parent. Not that he didn't want a child. Kunimitsu was his love and joy. It was just that ... Ayana handled most of everyday things when it came to their son. Teaching him to walk, teaching him to talk, disciplining him, feeding him, comforting him, entertaining him ... He always had a happy infant or a bouncy toddler in his arms to make funny faces with and wrestle around.

Silence and solemnity really did not go well with little boys. He was even unnerved by Kunimitsu's silence, not that he would ever admit it. It reminded him of his rebellious youth and clashes with his own father. The long strained silence and quiet talks that were more like disappointed lectures. Ayana was not a chatty woman. Her silence had never made him uncomfortable like Kunimitsu's. There was quiet strength and gentle warmth in her silence. He loved that about her. He could relax and be silly to make her laugh. The truth was, she would handle this situation better than him.

Well, he had been called in and he was expected to deal with this, not that he knew what or how. He did not want to punish Kunimitsu or discipline him or in anyway lecture him. After all, he did not think Kunimitsu was wrong or misbehaving in any way. Mika-chan's mother had called him at the office, an hour after he had received the summon from the headmaster. Apparently, a teary-eyed Mika-chan had told her mother about Tezuka-kun who had stood up for her and now was being unfairly punished. The mother had thanked him and asked him not to be too hard on a good boy like Tezuka-kun.

Knowing his son, he was more inclined to believe Kunimitsu than the teacher, even without Mika-chan's story. He remained amiable without agreeing or compromising to anything. After all, he had a lot of practice navigating the corporate jungle. There was nothing else for him to add. The teacher on playground duty did not believe Kunimitsu's story. She came late to the scene to find Kunimitsu standing over three other boys collapsed on the ground. One in wailing fit and two dazed and breathless. There was the evidence of three 6-year-old boys in worse shape than his Kunimitsu. They said Kunimitsu attacked them. It was their three words against his one. Did any of Ayana's parenting magazines mention about dealing with things like these? He didn't think so. He was approaching their house again and he needed a decision. Kunimitsu had been silent for 10 minutes. He sighed. Screw the magazines. Screw the school. He had been called to deal with this, he would deal with it in his own way.

He drove past the house again and headed to the park. He sat Kunimitsu on the see-saw and knelt down to his eye-level. It deserted, this late in the evening. "Talk to me," he said. He was not a patient man like his father. He could not wait hours for Kunimitsu to be ready to open his mouth.

Kunimitsu clenched his fists tightly. "They make Mika-chan cry," he whispered defiantly. "Then Tarou hit me. It hurts. I got angry. And they ... and I ... But ... I didn't. I really didn't hit back!" Tears started rolling down his cheeks. He did not want to cry, but his papa was looking at him so seriously, it frightened him. All his resolution earlier flew out of his head. "Are you angry? Are you sad? I won't say I'm sorry because I am not. I won't lie. I'm not lying. I'm not lying ..." he said brokenly.

Kuniharu hugged his son and kissed his forehead. "I'm not angry with you," he said quietly. "I'm not sad. Don't say you're sorry. Then you don't have to lie." He smiled at the surprise on Kunimitsu's face. "I believe you. You are a good boy. I believe you. You did the right thing, standing up against bullies. Just do it a little more wisely next time, like calling your teacher."

Kunimitsu gave his father an incredulous look, his eyes wide open. Then his furrowed his brows as he carefully thought over his father's words. He wasn't a condemned bad person, at least not to his papa. That was a relief. He nodded slowly.

Kuniharu watched his son carefully. He smoothed his mussed hair. "Are you still angry?" He got a nod in answer. "Are you sad?" A more hesitant nod followed. "Are you disappointed?" An emphatic nod. "Does it hurt your feelings?" More nods. He shifted his little boy onto his lap and cradled him against his chest. "It doesn't matter what other people think. You can bear it because you know the truth. That is what is truly important."

Kunimitsu pressed his face into papa's shirt and cried his little heart out. All his frustrations, all his confusions, all the unfairness in his little world. "I didn't hit ... I really did not ..." he said between sobs. It was a sore point with him.

"I know," Kuniharu said. And he did. He may not look it, but he was a 2-dan judoka back in Junior High. He could not live under the same roof as Tezuka Kunikazu without knowing a thing or three about the Arts. He knew why despite being adapt at judo, kendo and karate, his father remained adamantly a judo instructor. He had allowed his father to teach Kunimitsu judo, because, really, it was a family trait. They were simply too gentle for their own good. Kunimitsu had been taught never to hit or kick another person. Unlike karate, there were no striking, punching or kicking being taught in judo. At least not at the level Kunimitsu was in. He was incapable of such actions. But his Kunimitsu was very good at throws. You could hurt yourself by tripping, falling over and hitting the ground from gravity and momentum. It hurts as much as being kicked and punched. More so if you didn't know how to land.

When Kunimitsu had cried himself out and released the tight grip on his shirt, Kuniharu cleaned his face with wet wipes Ayana thoughtfully kept in the car. Then he tickled Kunimitsu till he had a squirming giggly boy in his arm. Really, children should not look like 50-year-old men with a death sentence. "Let's have some ice-cream," he said, hoisting his once more happy boy on his shoulder.

He thought, maybe, Kunimitsu was a little too sheltered. He was a very private child who was very particular about physical contact. He could not bear being touched by strangers and people he did not like. It meant he was normally left at home during social functions or kept at his mother's side. While he had his bouts of wilfulness and naughtiness, he had never been punished physically. Kunikazu, who was the usual disciplinarian, preferred a more psychological and constructive approach. Disciplines were couched in disapproval, shame, forfeited privileges, mind-numbing repetitive chores, running laps and endless squats. It left him vulnerable outside the circle of his family.

Although Kunimitsu could not quite articulate his reasons, Kuniharu knew he had been outraged and upset by the incident. Offended and shocked that another person would touch him with the intention to cause physical pain and fear. Frustrated that his voice had been ignored. He hated being ignored. It was punishment for misbehaviour. He had not misbehaved and therefore, was unjustly punished. He was also wrongly accused of lying by a figure of authority that he was expected to respect and defer to. His poor little mind could not accept such fallacies in an adult.

As much as he prided his family for not pampering the baby in the house, he had not considered the complications that appeared in not preparing his son to navigate the juvenile social environment. Going to school meant mixing with other children. Dealing with peers who shout, snatch and shove. While he knew how to negotiate play roles and take turns, he did not know how to deal with children who broke promises and jump queues. Children who would bite, pinch and lie. Children who were rude and thoughtless.

He had thought letting him socialise with people outside his family at the dojo would be enough. He had not considered that everyone there were much older than him; mature police officers or teenagers, who were not above coddling him and generally did not act childishly and selfishly with a young child. He knew his father ran a tight ship. Childishness and fooling around would not be tolerated. Kunimitsu was taught and expected to behave maturely. Kunimitsu had expected the same of everyone else in every other social framework. It simply was an impossible expectation in a class of pre-school children.

He patted a foot swinging over his shoulder. Well, Kunimitsu was an intelligent boy. He would survive and learn to cope. After all, that was what growing up was all about.

---

Tezuka Kuniharu decided that he was sorely mistaken. It wasn't Kunimitsu that was most traumatised by the incident. It was his wife Ayana. The same wife who was now furiously cataloguing every speck of bruise and millimetre of scratches to him as she bathed Kunimitsu. It sounded like she would like to violently pound those other boys for touching her precious son.

Ayana had been waiting anxiously since receiving the phone call from her husband. She was distraught when he came home with Kunimitsu, who waved sticky red fingers at his mama from his papa's shoulders. Then again, ordering vanilla raspberry ice-cream with generous helping of strawberry syrup might not be the smartest thing to do, considering the circumstances. Kunimitsu was a messy eater. Ice-cream landed on his clothes, hair, cheeks ... everywhere else more than his mouth. Even Kuniharu's shirt sported pink little handprints. He watched his shirt soaking in pink coloured suds. Didn't 5-year olds know how to use spoon? Oh! He had an epiphany. Kunimitsu with something wet and squishy meant he'd rather play than eat it. Now he knew why Ayana always spoon feed Kunimitsu or gave him finger food when they eat out.

He cocked an ear at his wife. She seemed to be winding down now. Kunimitsu was clean and freshly scrubbed. Ayana had dressed him in his flannel green pajamas with little blue dinosaurs. He smelled of baby shampoo.

Kunimitsu had been silent throughout the process. Now that his mother had finished, he looked up at her with wide eyes. He held her hand between his two small ones like his papa did sometimes. "Don't be angry anymore, mama," he said. "It's okay now. Papa is not angry. And I'm not angry now." Ayana gave a wordless cry and hugged him to her.

Kuniharu looked over the sleeping figure of his son to his wife. Kunimitsu was curled up between them, mouth open and drooling on his favourite pillow. Ayana's arm curled protectively over his waist. Kuniharu reached out at tucked a lock of her hair back, turning the motion into a gentle caress along her jaw.

"He will be be fine," he said quietly. 'Though I thought he'd be a little older before he gets into a fight. I made it to 15 before the school had to call my father in. He has broken the family record!"

"Dear ... That is not something to be proud of."

He smiled ruefully. "Are you going to be all right?"

Ayana drew a deep shuddering breath. "Tomorrow. Ask me tomorrow."

* * *

Note:  
Ah ... hope that was a satisfactory closure. It took longer than I thought to cover this milestone. When will I ever learn that what I thought can be covered in 1 chapter usually ended up multi-chapters.

I had more Kuniharu history to explain why three generations of Tezuka ended doing very different things. But it doesn't fit well with current pacing, so maybe I'll use it in some other later chapter or never. Never thought I'd write so much Kuniharu sololique introspections.

I had not no idea what sort of person Tezuka's father would be when I wrote last chapter. There was not much to work with from canon other than he took Tezuka mountain climbing. Then, when I typed 2-dan judoka, he came alive for me and hopefully, becomes a little more interesting. I have pegged Ayana and Kunikazu as introverts. So I think a more extroverted easy-going personality for Kuniharu would balance out the Tezuka family.

I made use of Kohlberg's stages of moral development. Kunimitsu, at age 5, is between Stage 2 and 3. Stage 3 is a Conventional level of moral reasoning driven by interpersonal accord and conformity. At this stage, approval from higher authority (parent, teachers) and following rules were important to him.

Also, at this age, he had began to differentiate the different levels of severity of transgressions (ie what he considers bad into how bad is bad). Telling lies (moral transgression) ranked higher than eating ice-cream with fork (social transgression).

In Theory of the Mind (last chapter), he is also at the transitional stage gaining ability to attribute false-belief (around 4-5 yo). Before acquiring this ability (put himself in someone else's point of view), he thinks that what he knows is also what other people know (ie Judo training of falling without hurting yourself). He had limited understanding and ability to see things from another child's point of view.


	4. New Beginnings

**Chapter 4 - New Beginnings**

"Otousama." Kuniharu bowed and took his seat.

"You know Kunimitsu's potential," Kunikazu said without preamble. "Ayana is over reacting. Kunimitsu would have worse injuries had he not been properly trained."

"I know that, Otousama. Give her some time to get over the shock. It's not a bad idea to try something new."

"He needs consistent training and discipline. Coddling him would make him weak."

"I also know you want another champion who would not disappoint you. I know what it takes to be that champion. Just as I know what kind of people he will meet along that path." Kuniharu drew a deep calming breath. It was never easy to talk to his father about these matters. They had too much wounded history. "Ayana may be wrong about yesterday. But she is not wrong about his future."

"Are you going to let your own failure limit your own son?"

"Otousama. This is not about me. This is about Kunimitsu. If he wishes to continue, to whatever level or involvement he is willing to take, I won't stop him. I will talk Ayana around if he really wants it. But I won't force this on him. He is only a child, Otousama. Let him be a child."

Kunikazu frowned at the rumpled figure before him. When did his son turn into this foolish creature? "It is precisely because he is a child, he needs to be guided with a firm hand. It is time you take responsibility for your own son."

"I am, Otousama. Right now. That is why I am telling you this. There are other things in life besides Judo. Let us expose him to other activities. Surely you can spend time with him outside the dojo. Take him to the playground ... Let him play in the sand with other children. Climb monkey bars, play on the swing ..."

"Childish things. Mindless waste of time. Kunimitsu needs better than that." The two men watched each other tensely across the table. Suddenly, the door slid open and Kunimitsu burst in with something in his hand. Seeing both father and grandfather together, he slowed down and put a wooden box on the table.

"Kunimitsu, why aren't you dressed for school?" Kunikazu asked.

"Mama said I can't go to school today. I have to help Mama clean the storeroom. See! See!" he said excitedly. He rooted around until he pulled up a five-sided wooden tile. "See! It's my name!"

"It's a shougi gamepiece, Kunimitsu."

"It's my name!" He proudly displayed the tile with the kanji character 玉將 (Jewelled General) to his grandfather. "My name!" He pointed proudly to the top character.

"It's only part of your name. Can you tell me what else you need to make your name?"

"Rectangle*!" he declared proudly. He was very good at naming shapes.

"What else?"

He frowned. He scratched his head. Then he jumped to his feet. "Mama!" He ran out.

Kuniharu laughed at his antics. When he turned back to finished his conversation with his father, he was surprised. Kunikazu had a contemplative look as he rearranged the scattered tiles.

"Otousama?"

"I will think of something."

Kuniharu bowed again and left the room. Once he was seated in his car, he took a deep breath. That went better than expected. Kunimitsu's presence seemed to have softened his father a little bit.

* * *

The next day, Ayana allowed Kunimitsu to go back to class. He woke up at 6am and changed into his white judogi. He tiptoed his way to the back garden. His grandfather was all ready there, in the middle of his morning zazen. He set his own meditation cushion down, folded his legs and dropped neatly into position. Many confusing and anxious thoughts swirled around his head, especially what had passed in the last two days. His body remained calm and still, but as much as he tried to concentrate, he could not reach the calmness within.

After half an hour, Kunikazu completed his routine. He turned around to observe the small form of his grandchild. Despite Kunimitsu's perfectly unmoving figure, he knew the boy was going nowhere with his meditation.

"Kunimitsu," he called softly. Kunimitsu opened his eyes. He looked troubled. "What is bothering you?"

Kunimitsu avoided his eyes to stare at the floor. "Am I being punished?" he mumbled.

"Why do you think that?"

"Missed judo yesterday. And Mama said can't go with Ojiisan to the dojo today."

"Kunimitsu, look at me." Kunikazu softened his eyes. "You are not being punished."

"Feels like punishment," Kunimitsu whispered miserably.

"Still hurt?" Kunikazu's fingers brushed lightly against his side.

"No!" he said quickly. When Kunikazu pursed his lips, he amended to, "Just a little bit."

"You have to let your body heal properly. Then, you can go back to practice. Maybe next week, all right?"

"Yes!" He smiled and nodded, feeling much better.

Kunikazu pat him on the head and said, "I have a present for you." He took out a wooden box, the same one Kunimitsu left on the table the day before.

"Box?"

"This is a shougi set. Your late grandmother gave it to me a long time ago. Now, I am giving it to you."

"Mine?"

"Yes. Come. I will show you how to play it." He opened the box and took out two wooden trays that held many pentagonal tiles. Then he flattened the box and turned it around. "This is the board. I'm going to put the tiles on it. Remember where I put each piece." Kunikazu arranged the tiles on two ends of the board. He named each piece slowly. Kunimitsu followed him, forehead wrinkled in concentration. He can't read all the written words, so he tried to remember the shape of the words and the size of the tiles.

When Kunikazu pointed at the challenging king, he blurted out "Kuni!" It was the tile with his name.

"Not 'Kuni'.'Gyoukushou', the Jewelled General*. It is a different word without the rectangle around it."

He nodded solemnly. Even so, he was still fond of the big piece that held an element of his name. So he chose the Jewelled General's side.

"Now, these are the two armies. At the head of the white army, is the King General, who is the reigning King. At the head of the challenging black army is the Jewelled General."

"That's unfair. Why the black army only get a General? Is the General the King's man too?"

"Ah ... It's ... um ... he is a special General. He is powerful enough to fight the King."

"Why? Is he a bad person? He must be since he is in the black army."

"Ah ... no. He could be the good General that fights a bad King that has become a cruel tyrant."

"Oh ... So King is a bad king. Then he should resign or try to be a good king."

"What if the General had rebelled against the rightful King and has now become a traitor?"

"Then General is bad and King is good. But ..." He looked back and forth between the two armies.

"Kunimitsu, they can both be good and bad."

"But ... but ... they are fighting. ... So ... So they are both bad!" he crowed in triumph.

"Fighting does not always mean bad. Do you think both of them believe they are good and fighting for what they believe in?"

He cocked his head trying to wrapped his mind around the concept of how someone could do bad things and still be good. What was his Ojiisan trying to say? The General was trying to stop a tyrant, because everyone knows tyrants are bad people. But the General was also a traitor that starts a war and bad people start wars. So the General was doing a bad thing, even though it was for a good cause.

Was Ojiisan saying that the General was still a good person, even though he did a bad thing? Like when he was fighting in school? He did a bad thing, but he had a good cause. He had to defend Mika-chan and himself, even though he didn't want to fight with the other boys. Papa said he was a good boy. But Papa also said there were other ways to do things besides fighting. What was it Papa said? 'Do it more wisely'? He did not understand what Papa meant. Did Papa mean he was not wise? That he must learn to be wise like Papa and Ojiisan. Then he could achieve good goals without doing bad things. He vowed from that day forward, he, Tezuka Kunimitsu, would learn to be wise. He did not know how yet, but he was sure, when he became wise, he would not have to physically injure another person ever again, not even for a good cause.

...

"It's too early," Kuniharu complained as he entered the kitchen and sleepily wrapped his arms around his wife.

"Shhh ...," said Ayana as she pulled back the curtain to accommodate her husband. The kitchen window gave them a clear view of Kunimitsu and his grandfather playing shougi. "They are really having fun today." Outside, Kunimitsu clapped his hands excitedly as his tile promoted to a Dragon King.

* * *

Notes:

* Opposing/Challenger King in Shougi is gyokushou (Jewelled General) tile has 玉. In Kunimitsu's name, Kuni is 国 (country) which looks like 玉in a box.

* The Jewelled General is the equivalent of the Black King in chess.

Thank you for all the reviews, favourites and alerts. There are not enough non-slash, non-romance fics in PoT fandom IMHO. So this is my small contribution to the darkside. I hope this will get some writers to be interested enough to try their hand off the beaten track. Even I am inspired to write this from another writer in LJ, _apples_for_me_, who wrote _The Adventures of Kunimitsu and Marilyn_ stories.

I try to keep Tezuka as in character as possible, that is, not to say that Tezuka will be out of character. Part of my objective is to speculate on how he developed into his 14-year-old self that we are familiar with. My premise is that Tezuka is not born 14. Part of his characteristics came from his innate/in-born preferences (e.g. introversion), part came from influences from his family and part came from life experiences. So the 5 to 12 year old Tezuka will have some undeveloped, in-development and fully-developed Tezuka characteristics.

Poor Kunimitsu. The world is not as black and white as he believes. I must say, this chapter has to be the toughest yet. It bounced around being too short (less than 500 words) to too long and clunky. This is where I keenly felt the lack of an editor or a guinea-pig reader or at least someone to bounce ideas off. I had to cut off 2 large sections, simply because they don't flow properly. But I still feel some loss of depth or at least character development due to the missing sections. I even posted and deleted this chapter twice in 24 hours. That's how unsettled I am over it. Any rate, enough of my complaints. This will be the last-last-last version and I can move on to introducing Tezuka to his destiny. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Any comments would be most welcomed. Thank you for reading.


	5. Saturday Morning with Papa

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

Chapter 5 - Saturday Morning with Papa

It was Saturday. Papa said he was going to take Mama and Kunimitsu to the club again. Only this time, Mama said Papa was not allowed to play golf. Papa was going to play with Kunimitsu while Mama joined the other ladies at the ikebana workshop. Kunimitsu wanted to play with Mama at ikebana workshop too. But Papa said it was boring girly thing. Then he quickly said Mama was prettier than any flower. Kunimitsu did not understand what ikebana had to do with Mama being pretty. His mama was always pretty whether she went to play at ikebana or not.

At 8:00 am, Kunimitsu was all ready seated in the car, waiting excitedly for his papa and mama. Ojiisan had all ready left for the dojo. He was a little sad, but Papa said he could go with Ojiisan on Monday, if he was a good boy. It was hard for him to choose. He liked going to the dojo with Ojiisan on weekend. There were other children there instead of the one he went to on weekdays. He also got to practice more at throws and pins.

When he went to the weekdays dojo, he spent more time watching the others practice. Sometimes, one of the sensei would call Kunimitsu for a demonstration. But he liked that too. Like the time they trained on dealing with small children and short people. The adults had to chase, catch and restrain him and Kasumi-san (who was only 145 cm tall). On his part, he was to wriggle and try to avoid capture. He was even allowed to pinch. But he only did that lightly. After lessons, Ojiisan said he could pinch hard or even bite if anyone tried to attack or hurt him like that. But he was not allowed to do it in playtime.

Most of the techniques were difficult and complicated. Ojiisan always remind him not to try the things he see in that dojo on his own or in play. Now, Ojiisan also said to be careful and not to try things he learned on the weekend dojo in his school. He got confused after that. But Ojiisan said it's okay. When he grows up, he will know when he should and should not use the things he learned in both dojo.

Kunimitsu pulled the seatbelt hand over hand and pressed the seatbelt clip into the slot with both hands. Mama showed him how to do it. Now he could wear seatbelt all by himself. Sometimes, he missed the hole and it zoomed back into its hiding place.

He drummed his heels and squeezed his favourite green ball. He wished Papa and Mama would hurry up. He was going to have Papa all to himself today. He was really excited. He didn't get to play with Papa as much as Ojiisan and Mama. But Papa didn't mind if he got dirty or messy or unhygienic. Unhygienic was a big word, but Kunimitsu knew it was Mama's word for putting things into his mouth that he wasn't supposed to.

Finally, Papa and Mama came out. Papa had a big bag with him. Not as big as his golf bag, but big enough he could crawl inside. He knew because Papa put the big papa-towel inside with his little Pooh bear towel last night. It smelled so nice, he climbed inside and fell asleep. He wasn't supposed to fall asleep. He was supposed hide until Mama found him. But he forgot to tell Mama they were playing hide and seek and he got sleepy while waiting to be found. He thought it would make a nice hiding place next time he played with Mama.

Mama took them to a place with high wire fences. It looked like a big cage in the zoo. He wondered if there were elephants inside or tigers or otters. He didn't mind if there were otters. They looked fun to play with. Papa stood outside and looked reluctant to go in. Maybe there were tigers inside. "Can't I just teach him to play golf?" he said in his playful whiny voice. Mama pat his papa on the arm and told him to behave himself.

Mama introduced them to a man inside who introduced himself as the tennis coach. He bowed politely at the tennis coach who was going to be papa and his new sensei. Then Mama left for her ikebana. Coach started them with simple warm ups. He went through them perfectly. It was similar to the warm ups he did at the dojo.

Then Coach showed them the tennis court, the net, a green furry ball and a racquet. He gave them a racquet each. Papa had a big blue racquet. Kunimitsu had a small red one. It was heavy and big. He felt clumsy and unbalanced holding it on one hand. He passed it from right to left and back again, trying to find a comfortable grip.

"Kunimitsu-kun, hold it like this." Coach adjusted the handle position on his right hand, then rearranged his fingers on the grip. "This is the eastern grip." The big netted end drooped when Coach removed his big hands. He held the grip two handed and the big end stayed up.

Coach got them to try forehands. It was a game. They had to keep the ball bouncing as many times as possible. He had fun hitting the ball back and forth with Papa. In the end, Kunimitsu won the game. But it was really hard because Papa was making funny faces and playing mock guitar on the racquet and dancing around the court. Kunimitsu found it hard to swing and laugh at the same time. It made both of them miss the ball many times. At the end of the game, they collapsed on the floor, all sweaty and breathless and giggly. It was the most fun day Kunimitsu ever had with his papa.

"Tezuka-san, I never thought I would ever say this. I'm really sorry, Tezuka-san." The tennis coach bowed to Ayana. "I'm afraid I can't accept your husband as a student. He is too disruptive to the lesson. I am willing to accept your son. He has potential. If you like, I have a group lesson with other children he can join. Or I can take him as private student, no extra charge."

Ayana eyed her husband a short distance away. They were both freshly showered, with their hair still damp. Kunimitsu's batteries had ran flat after the morning activities. Kuniharu carried Kunimitsu draped over a shoulder, sleeping peacefully. Kuniharu caught her glance and gave her a goofy innocent grin. Ayana sighed and turned back to the Coach. "I understand. I would prefer Kunimitsu to join the other children. Thank you."

"That went well?" Kuniharu said as she joined them.

Ayana sighed as she gazed at his open, disarming face. It really was impossible to get mad at that face. "He said he is willing to accept Kunimitsu as student. You, my dear, are banned from the tennis court." Ayana shook her head as she watched the coach tried to restore order to his lesson group, many who were imitating her husband.

"Can I teach him golf now?"

"No."


	6. Not Good Enough

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 6 - Not good enough  
**

Kunimitsu hugged his brand new tennis racquet to his chest. Mama and Papa took him shopping on Wednesday night. They bought him new tennis shoes, new green tennis balls and a white racquet. The shopkeeper was careful to measured his small hands and gave him a few racquets to try out. The shopkeeper showed him a row of colourful grip-tapes and let him pick one for himself. He chose a light blue one. Then they put on the grip-tape together. Mama praised him for his neat and careful effort. He had to leave the racquet behind to be stringed though, so he couldn't show off his new racquet to his friends in class. But Mama let him wear his new tennis shoes, since it still fulfilled school regulation white.

On Saturday, Papa took them to his club again. Papa went to play golf. Mama took him to the tennis court. He joined a group of ten children. Each of them were paired up into practice buddies. His partner was Suzuki Akira, a plump 7-year-old. He shyly told Kunimitsu that he just started to learn. He was both relieved and reassured that they were both beginners. He partnered with Akira for most of his lessons until both of them had caught up with the rest of the class. Akira became his first friend in the club.

"Hey, Shorty!" Kunimitsu panted. His legs felt like jelly. It was his fifth tennis lesson. "This is tennis, Shorty. Hit the ball. No use hitting air." It was humiliating. Kunimitsu was always too late to reach the ball. His arms were not long enough and his legs were too slow. He tried jumping, but the ball sailed over his head. Since then, Hokage-senpai had been calling him 'Shorty', even after Kunimitsu had told him his name.

He watched the other children rally with each other with envy. Akira was having a good rally with another boy, slowly counting to 10. He could not even start a rally with Hokage-senpai. The balls bounced too high for him to reach or it went too fast past him. They had not gone to up to 3 balls yet. He was, as much as he hated to admit it, really bad at tennis. Hokage-senpai looked bored. He must be unhappy to get a bad practice partner like Kunimitsu.

Finally, tennis practice ended. It was the most miserable and agonisingly slow morning Kunimitsu ever had. He felt like crying. He wiped his face with the back of his hand. It was wet. He quickly grabbed his towel and buried his face into the soft terry cloth. He didn't want to know if it was tears or sweat.

"Kunimitsu." Akira held out a water bottle to him.

"Thank you."

"Kunimitsu, Hokage-senpai is a bad person."

"No, I just ... just not good enough to keep up."

"No. He always do that. He purposely made you miss the balls during practice. Coach said we're supposed to hit the ball to each other so we can practice our techniques, not waste time picking balls. We're not having a practice match, so he wasn't supposed to do that. Seito said so. That's why nobody wants to play with him. Don't let him upset you, okay? There's your Mama, Kunimitsu. You better run along. I'll see you next week! Bye bye."

Ayana kept a watchful eye on Kunimitsu. Since the morning tennis lesson, he had been in an unusually quiet mood. That was, more quiet than his wont. She wondered if he was falling sick. The PTA meeting the day before did not allay her worries at all. His teacher complained that he was slowly falling behind the other children. It had not become a problem yet, since he was still turning in acceptable work. But he was improving much more slowly than the other children.

She tucked him in for his afternoon nap. Then she took out his work books to check on his homework. She flipped through his maths work book, smiling at the little silver and gold stars the teacher had given him. The next one was his writting exercise book. The first few pages were filled with large irregular characters. The most recent pages were neater, filled with faint erased marks. His star awards also dropped to almost nil. She frowned. Was the standards becoming ridiculously high or was there something wrong with her son that she did not know about?

Maybe Kunimitsu had too much going on and was buckling under too much stress. But this day was the first time she had seen Kunimitsu so broody and depressed. After she had fed him, he curled up in his bed even before she announced nap time. She leaned over his sleeping form, listening to his soft breath. Then she swept his feathery hair off his brows, pressing her hand against his forehead. No fever.

With school, judo, tennis and shougi, Kunimitsu's day was filled to the brim. She had wanted to take him out of judo class, but he had been upset over it. She had only managed reduce it to three days a week. She sighed and turned to his reading book. This time, the teacher favoured blue and green stars. Perfect marks for reading and comprehension. She shuffled that to the end of the pile and picked up the next one.

The art work book was thicker than the others. The first page had a red house with blue roof in crayon, irregular and out of line. The art teacher had stamped 3 smiley faces at the bottom. Kunimitsu had coloured them in yellow crayon. The next page had an origami fish with five smiley faces. Someone had neatly added stick bodies and hair to the faces, turning them into a family of five stick figures. The next few pages were cut outs of coloured paper and magazines. They were not as neatly done, most lopsided or crookedly cut out. His smiley faces had dropped to one or two.

Ayana sighed and repacked Kunimitsu's school bag. She rifled through Kunimitsu's bookshelf thoughtfully before pulling out a colouring book featuring Thomas Train. There were still many pages that had not yet been coloured. It would do. It was time to find out what most people took for granted. It was time to see if her intuition had been right.


	7. Hands

Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu

Chapter 7 - Hands

Kunimitsu blinked sleepily at Mama. It always took some time for him to warm up after waking up. He watched Mama offered him a cookie. He accepted it with both hands. It was still warm, freshly baked with bits of hazelnuts in it. He held the big cookie with both hands and proceeded to munch on it. Then he remembered something and hurriedly swallow. "It's delicious, Mama," he said carefully. Mama had that serious expectant look she gave Papa when she tried a new recipe or a new dress. Sometimes, she gave that look to Kunimitsu too.

Kunimitsu drank his milk, which he had accepted with both hands again and drank with both hands wrapped around the heavy mug. He must accept or give things with both hands. It was bad manners to use one hand. Mama watched him carefully while he drank his milk, so he made sure he finished all of it.

Ayana sighed. Kunimitsu remembered his etiquette lessons too well, even when he was half awake. Obviously, the quick test the magazines mentioned wasn't going to work. She set the glass and plate aside and put a colouring book in front of him. She opened it to a page with a difficult picture. It had thin areas and small odd angled shapes to colour in. She had labelled each area with a number from 1 to 12.

"Let's do some colouring, Kunimitsu." She put a mug on the table with 12 different colour pencils in it. She had stuck labels from 1 to 12 on them. "First, colour the leaves." She pointed to the tree picture labelled 7.

He blinked sleepily. Normally, the colour by numbers had the numbers and the colour it was supposed to represent at the bottom of the page. But there wasn't any on the page so he couldn't pick the colours easily. He reached over with his left hand to search through the colour pencils. Finally, he pulled out number 7, a dark blue. He stared at the pencil a moment, looked at the paper. "Mama, leaves are green colour."

"Very good, Kunimitsu. Can you help me correct the number?"

He put 7 back and picked up the eraser on his left. Ayana purposely placed both pencil and eraser there. He rubbed out 7 and frowned again. "What number should it be?"

"Which colour should it be?"

"Green."

"There are two greens."

"Dark green. Like Ojiisan's bonsai."

"What number is dark green?"

He swirled the colour pencils and picked up the dark green. "This one. 5!"

"Can you write 5 for me in kanji?"

He took the pencil and carefully placed it in his right hand. Then he wrote 五 over the 7. Ayana pursed her lips. So far, Kunimitsu had been using his left hand, until he had to write. He picked up all the objects with his left and erased the number 7 with his left hand. But he wrote with his right. Was he still too young to show preference for a dominant hand? Something told her otherwise. She watched him carefully as he set down the pencil and and picked up the dark green colour pencil. Again, he transferred the object to his right hand to colour. He worked slowly and carefully. Still, he seemed to have trouble with the borders and the sharp bends. Every time he overshot, he would stop. With his left hand, he carefully rubbed out the deviant part precisely to the line with a sharp corner of the eraser.

Ayana was both impressed and disturbed. Kunimitsu was actually more precise with the blunt eraser than the colour pencils she had carefully sharpened earlier. She had not expected this. She knew children were normally ambidextrous when they were very young. They normally showed a dominant hand preference latest by 4 or 5. Somehow, she had assumed he was right handed when he had copied her and wrote with his right hand since he was three. Was she wrong?

Kunimitsu had moved on the the tree trunk, picking up 9-brown with his left and colouring with his right. He had placed his left index finger on the edges of the thin branches, guiding and preventing the brown colour from running into the green area. "What next?"

Ayana checked the clock. It took 10 minutes for him to colour a small tree. Although she did not impose a time limit and she had allowed him to work at his own pace, it still took a long time with many corrections. What if she had been wrong? "Kunimitsu, we are going to try a new challenge." Kunimitsu perked up. "Let's colour the train with your left hand."

Kunimitsu blinked in confusion. Colour with his left hand? But Mama and his teachers and his friends all use their right hands. Sometimes, the teacher would scold him and tell him to follow her if he tried to use his left hand to write. "Mama?"

"It's okay, let's try it."

He picked up 11-grey for the smoke coming out of the top. He worked awkwardly at first with many mistakes. But the area was big and easy to do. He switched eraser to his right hand to pick up the mistakes.

Ayana still observed Kunimitsu carefully. He seemed to be struggling at the beginning, but as he moved on to the train body with a blue pencil, he was getting more precise with it. He had given up rubbing with his right hand. Now he used his left hand to both colour and correct his mistakes, which were, getting fewer and smaller. She waited till he worked his way to the wheels.

"Mama! No numbers."

Ayana smiled. "Thank you for spotting that, Kunimitsu. Can you help me write nine in kanji for me on all the six wheels?"

"Hn." He held the pencil vertically on his left hand like the way his Ojiisan held his brush when he practised calligraphy*. The first kyu 九 was lopsided. So he erased that and tried again. Ayana adjusted his grip to normal and asked him to try again. By the time he reached the sixth wheel, his hand-writting looked neater and more balanced.

"Kunimitsu, let's do some homework." She brought out his writting work book and opened to the page his teacher had circled. She made him work his way left-handed again. Finally, when he finished, she let him off. He grabbed his tennis racquet and ran outside to play.

Ayana flipped the page back and forth. The new page was neater and cleaner than the previous one. It had been slow and painstaking but it was now obvious to her Kunimitsu was showing signs of being a leftie.

"Kunimitsu, what are you doing?"

"Papa. I am jumping."

"I can see that." Indeed, he had been working on a new plant shelf for the garden when the 'thump thump thump' reached his ears. Kunimitsu was jumping up and down with his arms extended under the clothesline. He looked like he was trying to grab onto the taut ropes, although he was a foot short. "It will break if you pull the line. Use a chair."

"But Papa, I can't use a chair in tennis court."

"Tennis? Why are you jumping so much in tennis?"

"The ball went high and I'm too short to hit it. If I jump higher, I can reach it. Or maybe I should grow taller, but I don't how to grow taller ..."

Kuniharu chuckled. He set aside his hammer and walked over to the open grass patch. "Come here," he gestured. "If you want to jump really high, you have learn it from the best jumper." He squatted down and picked up a twig. Kunimitsu squatted down next to him. "Watch." He poked into the long grass and a green frog jumped into the air. Kunimitsu ran after it excitedly. The moment he got close, it jumped again and again, until it dived with a splash into the koi pond.

"All gone," he said sadly.

"Come. Show me how the frog stand before he jumps." Kunimitsu squatted down with his hands on the ground. "Then?" He tried jumping and fell sideways, his hands somehow tangling with his feet. "Well, that's how Mr. Frog does it," Kuniharu said as he brushed off bits of grass and dirt. "But for little boys, we have to do some adjustment. Tuck your elbows to the side like this. All right. Let's do it again."

Kunimitsu could feel it. He was going higher, even though he started lower on the ground than when he was standing.

"That's it. Jump with your whole body!" And Kuniharu squatted down and frog-jumped along with him. They chased each other around the garden until Kuniharu collapsed on the ground.

Kunimitsu showed no sign of exhaustion. He jumped around Kuniharu, then flung himself on his Papa's chest, pinning him in a tate-shiho-gatame. Kunimitsu had his knees folded up high with his feet firmly planted on the ground. His arms hugged Papa's neck and right arm tightly.

"Oof! I'm really getting too old for this," Kuniharu grumbled as tapped the ground with his left hand. He felt every ounce of Kunimitsu's weight on his ribs squeezing his lungs even when Kunimitsu's torso was too short to smother him properly. "I surrender." His joints creaked in agreement.

Kunimitsu released him immediately with a giggle, sitting up on his chest. "Again!"

Kuniharu groaned. "No more! Papa is tired. Go grab your tennis racquet and practise your jumping hit the ball thing."

Kunimitsu clambered off him. "Look, Papa!" He jumped at the clothesline again. This time, he managed to wrap his little hands around the rope. He hung there for a moment before it began to sag. There was a snap, followed by a scream.

"Are you okay? Are you okay?" Kuniharu said anxiously. He hugged the boy tightly to him. His heart still drumming in fright.

Kunimitsu curled up into quivering little ball. "Sorry. Sorry. Sorry." He kept saying that over and over again.

"Kunimitsu! Look at Papa. Does it hurt? Tell Papa where it hurts."

Kunimitsu shook his head and curled tighter. He clutched his hands closer to his body. "Sorry. Sorry. Sorry." He only meant to touch it, but he jumped so high he had reflexively wrapped his hands around the rope. Now he broke the clothesline and he hurts.

"Kunimitsu!" He was beginning to panic. All kinds of horrible possibilities flash through his mind, from dislocated arm to broken leg. His panic set Kunimitsu off and the boy began to wail. "Kunimitsu! Talk to me!"

He stopped when he felt a touch on his shoulder. He loosened his arms as Ayana picked Kunimitsu up and settled him on her lap.

"Shh ... it's okay. Don't cry." She said gently, rubbing his back. "Show Mama where it hurts. Shhh ... It's okay. It's okay." She continued to sooth him with soft calm voice until she felt his muscles loosened and joints unlocked. He shifted around. He showed her two clenched fists. "Open, let Mama see." There were angry red streaks across his palms and fingers. "Does it hurt anywhere else?" He shook his head.

"Rope burns," Kuniharu said, somewhat relieved that it was a mild one. "Go wash in cold water and put ice on it. I'll get the aloe vera."

Ayana nodded and carried Kunimitsu inside. At least, it was a minor and familiar injury. Kuniharu had come home with rope burns several times on his mountaineering trips. It was one injury they were all too familiar with.

As Kuniharu came in, Ayana took away the ice and patted Kunimitsu's hands dry. He whimpered at the sting. "There, good boy. You remember what Mama said?"

"Always listen to Papa..."

"Why didn't you?"

"I did. Then I forgot." Fresh tears rolled down his cheeks. "I broke it." He said brokenly through his sniffles.

Ayana hugged him and kissed the top of his head. "You won't forget anymore, will you?"

He shook his head.

"It's okay now. Papa will buy a new rope. But Papa can't buy a new Kunimitsu if he is broken. So you will be careful next time. Okay?"

Kunimitsu nodded.

Ayana wiped away his tears. She then motioned her husband to a much calmer Kunimitsu.

Kuniharu slipped a piece of aloe vera leaf he had peeled into Kunimitsu's hands while Ayana quickly positioned a bowl on Kunimitsu's lap under his hands. Kunimitsu gripped the leaf. It was slippery and squishy. It shot through his fingers straight into the bowl.

"Go for it!" Kuniharu said enthusiastically.

Kunimitsu doved into the bowl, squeezing and mushing it even more, till his whole hands were wet and slippery with slimy gel. It didn't hurt any more.

Kuniharu mussed Kunimitsu's hair. "Hands stay inside the bowl, okay?" He remembered Kunimitsu and the mess he made with ice-cream.

Kunimitsu nodded and happily played with his new toy.

-  
Note:  
* Chinese and Japanese calligraphy (shodou) is done with a brush held somewhat vertically.  
I have no idea if Tezuka Kunikazu is left or right handed, so for this fic, I'll just assume he's a leftie, though not too explicitly.  
* Dominant hands - from 0-3, children learns to coordinate and control their bodies and movements. They should be using all parts of their bodies and are generally ambidextrous. When they starts school, learning to read, write and paint, they began to show preference for a particular side. Normally, this happens as early as 3 and as late as 5. Also, for left-handed children and adults, they tend be better with their right hands than right-handed person with their left. Simply because majority of the world is built for right-handers and so, the lefties are forced to do certain things right-handed, giving them more practice and ambidexterity.  
* In Judo, tapping lightly on the ground or on the opponent signals that you yield / surrender. Since certain techniques can be quite uncomfortable and painful, it is common courtesy to immediately release that person upon signal.  
* I made Tezuka cry again. Poor baby. Well, at least he gets some pampering since Ojiisan is conveniently not home.


	8. Challenger

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 8: Challenger**

"Everyone, gather!" All the children aged from five to ten crowded around the tennis coach. "Last week, we had practised rallying. Today, we will practice playing a match. Everyone, pick your partner."

Kunimitsu, who was standing at the edge, looked around. He saw Akira walking towards him, only to be snagged by another boy. Akira gave him an apologetic smile. Kunimitsu nodded back. He didn't mind. Akira was a popular partner because he was always friendly and nice to play with.

He watch the other children shuffled around, looking for someone in particular. His eyes lighted on Hokage-senpai, who had a wide space around him and whom everyone seemed to avoid eye-contact with. He looked bored.

Kunimitsu made a beeline for him. "Practice with me," he said.

All the children fell silent. "Kunimitsu ..." he heard Akira murmured anxiously.

"Hmph! Not interested, Shorty. I've all ready beaten you. There's no fun in it for me."

"I will make it more fun."

"Oh?" Hokage eyed Kunimitsu speculatively. "I'll make you cry and run home to your mama, boy."

"I have a name."

"So?"

"Please address me properly. My name is Tezuka Kunimitsu."

"Kunimitsu? National number Three*? Ha! Don't flatter yourself."

Kunimitsu frowned. He didn't people making fun of his name. It was rude. "When I win, you will address me properly." He used his serious face with his best imitation of Ojiisan serious-sensei voice. Hokage laughed mockingly. Kunimitsu sighed inwardly. It seemed his best Ojiisan imitation did not work very well.

"All right, everyone ready? Okay. We will play a tie-breaker game. Listen carefully to the rules." The coach explained the game carefully, making sure the younger children like Kunimitsu and Seito understood properly. Then, he let them pick a token from a bag.

Kunimitsu and Hokage got the last place. He sat down to wait for the others to play before him. A girl sat next to him. "Yanagi-san," he acknowledged the 10-year-old and made room for her racquet.

"Tezuka-kun. That was a brave thing you did." Yanagi Reiko said softly. "Make sure it is also not a foolish thing, ne."

"Aa." Kunimitsu nodded. Yanagi Reiko was undoubtedly the best tennis player in the group and the only one unaffected by Hokage.

The first pair finished their game. Yanagi jumped up as her name was called. Akira, who played the first game, took her seat.

"What did Yanagi-san said to you?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing."

"Come on, Kunimitsu. Did she mentioned Hokage-senpai?" Kunimitsu shrugged, which Akira accurately interpreted as affirmative. "Did you know, the first day Yanagi-san joined, Hokage-senpai challenged her. And she beat him flat 6-0 love games!"

Kunimitsu cocked his head at Akira. "You haven't joined yet at that time."

"Matsuda-kun told me."

"Hn." It was impressive, if Matsuda was right.

She was rumoured to have an equally talented brother. He had never seen anyone resembling Yanagi-san around, so he had dismissed it as just gossip. Sometimes, when she looked at him, she gave him the uncomfortable feeling she was seeing someone else. She was giving him that look now as she came off the court.

Finally, Kunimitsu's turn came. He served an overhead serve and dashed to the net. Hokage lobbed it high over his head. He crouched, then leapt into the air. He managed to graze the ball. It fell just over the net. He had not hit it properly with full strength so it only made a small flat low bounce. He was disappointed. He thought he could hit it like Yanaga-san and made the ball go really fast and bounce high. "Sorry," Kunimitsu said with a little bow.

Hokage stared at him with undisguised hate. He opened his mouth, then stopped. To the side, the coach clapped and said, "Well done, Tezuka-kun. That was a good drop shot. Everyone, did you see how the ball dropped over the net and bounce really low? That's a drop shot. We will learn that next month." Then he awarded 1 point to Kunimitsu.

Drop shot? He did not know what it meant. But it sounded like a good thing, so it made him a little happier. But he still wanted to hit the ball like Yanagi-san and make it go really fast.

Kunimitsu panted heavily. He had lost 7 consecutive points after that. Hokage-kun did not lob any more balls to him, so he didn't have a chance to try hitting the ball like Yanagi-san again. Instead, Hokage-kun hit the balls left and right. Kunimitsu had stayed near the net so he would have less distance to run. Still, he had the feeling Hokage-kun was toying with him, hitting the balls just within his reach, making him run left and right, tiring him out. Then he would hit it far left or right, outside of his reach, while giving him a mocking smirk, as if he was telling Kunimitsu that Kunimitsu had hit the balls because he had allowed it. At least, he did hit the balls back for a respectable rally or two. Still, he was so tired. He wish he was bigger with long legs like his Papa. His Papa could reach the balls in fewer steps, even the far left ones he had to hit with a back hand.

Kunimitsu still played tennis with his right hand. But his Mama had said he was special. He could choose which hands he preferred to do things with. If he felt more comfortable to do things with his left hand, he should do so. Even writting and colouring and using scissors. But, since he learned tennis with his right hand, he continued to play it with his right hand.

Mama went to talk to his homeroom teacher on Monday and since then, his teachers allowed him to use whichever hand he wanted. It was easier to use his left hand and more awkward at the same time in certain things. Like when he wrote with his left hand, the words get smudged or he can't see what he was writting properly. But he was getting better at it. Sometimes, he switched, just for fun.

"Tezuka-kun?" Yanagi-san broke into his reverie.

"Yes, Yanagi-san." He quickly straightened up. He thought he was the last one left. The others had left with their Papa and Mama. He had stayed back, slowly packing his bag. His Mama had another ikebana workshop, so she would be late to pick him up. He was to stay on the bench where coach could keep an eye on him until his Mama came for him.

"You did quite well."

"Not at all, Yanagi-san." He hugged his racquet closer but could not entirely hide his disappointment.

"Tezuka-kun?"

"Ah ... I wanted to jump and hit the ball like Yanagi-san. But ..."

"A smash? But you can't if your opponent doesn't give you a high ball." Kunimitsu nodded. "It's not always a reliable technique. But your feint and drop shot is more impressive. It's quite difficult to do."

Kunimitsu looked at her with big eyes. "More difficult? Umm ... it was accident. Not a f-fai ..."

"Feint. Do you know what that means?"

Kunimitsu shook his head, feeling every inadequate second of his short four and a half years of life.

"Feint is a trick. Like making your opponent think you are doing one thing, while you do something else. Like pretending to hit a smash when you actually hit a drop shot. If both your swing and speed are the same, the other person can't tell which ball you are really going to hit. Like your drop shot looked like a smash. If you really hit a smash, the ball will go fast and steep and have a high bounce. Hokage-kun can return it from the baseline. But you hit a drop shot, which is close to the net and don't bounce much, so he could not reach the ball in time from the baseline. If he was near the net, he could return the drop shot, but he would not be able to return the smash."

"Oh. You can play it like that too ..."

"It's called strategy."

"Like shougi!"

"Something like shougi, yes."

"Aa. Yanagi-san, can you teach me the jumping smash? And jumping drop shot and jumping trick."

"You don't ask for much, do you?" Yanagi-san laughed and ruffled his hair. He blushed at his own boldness. "Do you remember what it feels like, when you hit the drop shot?"

"Soft and slippery ... sliding ..." Kunimitsu didn't know the proper words.

"Feels like you brushed it gently, doesn't it?" Kunimitsu nodded. "It does not have a lot of power and you sliced it a bit, so there's a back spin on it. That takes a lot of control and restraint. It is actually much harder to do that consistently. Now, for a smash, it feels hard and fast. You swing hard and hit hard down. There's a free court over there. Want to try it?"

Kunimitsu nodded eagerly. He had forgotten his exhaustion. Tennis was much more fascinating than he thought. It was a bit like judo. He had to maintain balance, perfect his techniques, learn to control his speed and strength, and trust his instincts. It was a bit like shougi. Having the mental strength not to be intimidated or angered or allow anyone to disturb his concentration. There was strategy to think about, how tricking your opponent, thinking ahead, predicting what will happen and taking appropriate actions to get to his goal. It was even a bit like a storybook. When Yanagi-san explained what happened to him, she made the game like a story.

He was bad at it now. So many things he didn't know or understand. All the difficult words Yanagi-san used that don't even sound like Japanese. But maybe, he could learn to be better.

-  
Note:

Kunimitsu approximately translates to National Glory.

Hokage twisted it to _Kunimittsu_. _Mitsu _sounds like _Mittsu _which is three or third. I.e. _hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu _...


	9. Echizen Nanjirou

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 9 : Echizen Nanjirou**

Kunimitsu still had not figured out a good way to deal with balls going left and right, making him tired and too slow reach the far ones. He had taken to running longer and longer laps to build stamina, so he could run and not get tired for longer time. But it only allowed him to rally longer, not return the balls that were out of his reach. Hokage-kun simply hit the ball further away to where he could not reach easily. It only made him run more and it was tiring to keep at it all the time. He slumped down dejectedly over his maths homework.

"I'm home!" Tezuka Kuniharu came in, changed his outdoor shoes to indoor ones.

"Welcome home, Papa," said Kunimitsu. He took the briefcase his papa left on the floor and carried it to the study.

Kuniharu had hung up his coat, loosened his tie, and slouched loose-limbed on the sofa. Whenever he came home early, he always watched the news before dinner. Kunimitsu knew this and in a moment, had brought the TV remote to him. He turned on the TV and let the news run on low volume. Then he slid down next to Kunimitsu, who was supposed to be doing homework on the low table but was not. He had a serious thoughtful look on his face as he chewed lightly on the end of his pencil.

"What are you thinking?" he said.

"Tennis."

"Tennis?"

Kunimitsu pointed at the television. There was a tennis game being shown. Kuniharu turned up the volume.

"... shocked the world at the sudden withdrawal and disappearance of Echizen Nanjirou in Wimbledon Finals. Echizen's management office had not released any further statement beyond the cryptic 'Echizen Nanjirou had gone home'." The news cut to a photo of the Japanese tennis pro. Kunimitsu promptly lost interest in it.

"He swings with his right hand, then left, then right ... Papa, we can play tennis with both hands too?"

"Aa. It's perfectly allowed."

Kunimitsu looked at his left hand, still holding the pencil. If he hit with both hands, he would have less distance to run and he could reach the ball faster, wouldn't he?

"Ayana, what is Kunimitsu doing?"

"Good morning, Otousan. I think he is training to play tennis with his left hand."

They both watched Kunimitsu, still in his judogi from his morning zazen, swing his racquet. Over and over as he counted. Ninety seven ... ninety eight ... ninety nine ... tenty*.

Kunikazu cleared his throat. "Kunimitsu! What did I tell you just now?" he barked.

The effect was immediate. "I'm going. I'm going right now, Ojiisan!" Kunimitsu hid his racquet behind his back and sprinted for his room. Not that it was effective, with the head poking over his shoulder.

Ayana followed after him at a more sedate pace to help him prepare for school.

"Today, we will practice forehands for 10 minutes as light warm up. Pick your partner. Stand at the middle T. Start with underhand serve and rally to each other. Use only forehands. No backhands, no smashes. Don't lob the balls. Try to hit as close to the centre line as possible. The pair that hits the highest number of balls in a rally wins. Begin!"

Kunimitsu was standing in front of Hokage again. "Please practice with me," he said politely.

Hokage smirked. He turned his back deliberately to Kunimitsu and took position at the nearest court. Kunimitsu hurried to the other side. "Forehand only, Shorty. Can you keep up?"

"Forehand is enough," said Kunimitsu.

Hokage served to the corner of the service line. Kunimitsu sprinted after it like a greyhound. His return was six inches from the centre line. Hokage hit back to the other corner towards his backhand. Kunimitsu was all ready there waiting for him. He transferred his racquet to his left hand and returned with another forehand. It went a little wide to the middle of Hokage's left service box. Hokage chased it down, taking an extra step to allow him to hit it back with a forehand.

"Watch out for your foot work. I want to see smooth effortless swings." The coach moved from court to court. "Yanagi! Keep your eyes open! Don't slack off just because this is too easy for you. Fix your posture properly. Your left foot is slow."

"Seito, don't hit so hard. Try to aim for the middle. Straight down the line. That's right. Good job."

When the coach reach the last court, he stood stunned for two minutes. He did not know how long they had been at it, but Hokage and Kunimitsu had been on continuous rally all the time he was watching them. Both were drenched with sweat. Neither were willing to let the ball pass them. Kunimitsu was running from side line to side line, switching his racquet from left to right, right to left. Hokage was also running from side to side, his steps getting less and less. Finally, Kunimitsu was hitting within one foot on both sides of the centre line.

Hokage was fighting against his instinct to hit a backhand every time Kunimitsu aimed to his left. With both of them so close to the net, it left him little time to react. The intense concentration to control his natural reflex and maintaining his posture and balance was draining.

Kunimitsu did not have the same problem as Hokage. Once he switched the racket to the appropriate hand, it was always forehand to him. But it was awkward having to pass the racket from hand to hand, fumbling with the sweat slicked grip. He was quickly tiring from the constant running.

"Hokage! Tezuka!"

Kunimitsu missed a step and stumbled. His racquet slipped and dropped to the ground. The ball zoomed past his feet, bouncing off the side fence.

"Both of you! Slow walk around the fence. 5 laps. Now!" He watched as both abandoned their places and stumble-walked to the perimeter. He kept an eye on them for a few more moments to ensure they cool down properly.

"You lost, Shorty," Hokage panted. Kunimitsu simply hung his head and continued walking. "Hey, kid." He shoved lightly at Kunimitsu. Kunimitsu looked up at him, frowning slightly. Hokage held out his hand. "You're okay, kid. Let's play a proper match next time."

Kunimitsu looked at his outstretched hand, then back up into his eyes. "Tezuka."

"Huh?"

"My name is Tezuka."

"You haven't won yet, boy-o. You have to earn it ..." After some thought, Hokage added, "Mittsu."

Kunimitsu scowled and turned away, pointedly ignoring Hokage's hand. "I will beat you."

"Oi!" They heard the coach yelled. "Feet not moving! 10 laps."

Both of them broke off and continued to trudge around the fence. "But I didn't break any rules," Kunimitsu said morosely.

Coach heard him complained under his breath. He shook his head as he collected their racquets. The irony was, Kunimitsu was technically right. He was practising forehands, hitting as close to the centre line as he could. Still, he had to be fair and 'punished' them both. Especially if he did not want to deal with any cramps later.

He looked down at the small racquets in his hands. Like the rest of Japan, he had been disappointed and shocked at the news of Echizen's sudden retirement. It ended whatever hope Japan had of having a Grand Slam title. But looking at the small white and baby blue racquet in his hand, he wondered if a new Echizen was being born right that moment.

He did not know how close he was to the truth. There were two new Echizens being born at that moment in time*.

-  
Note:  
* No, I don't intend to make nintouryo young Tezuka's style. While he is resilient and still learning, he will try anything at least once. He is still young and still finding his own tennis. This is just one natural stepping stone.

*Japanese numbers are counted quite literally (and very easily) from base numbers 1... 10. If you know your numbers from 1 to 10, you can count to 99 easily. E.g. 11 is jyu-ichi or ten-one. 20 is ni-jyu or two-ten. 21 is ni-jyu-ichi or two-ten-one. 99 is kyu-jyu-kyu or nine-ten-nine. 100 introduced a new term, hyaku. Same hyaku as Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami. Hyakuren literally means 100 practice/drill/refinement. (Off-topic: Jitoku is made up of 2 characters - oneself & gain/earn/benefit/ability). With that, you can count to 999 (kyu-hyaku kyu-jyu kyu). 1000 is sen. Tezuka used jyu-jyu(ten-ten) for 100. This is called over-regularisation in language-learning process. Language normally have a general rule or pattern that children learned to recognise. E.g. adding 's' to make something plural and adding 'ed' to make a verb past tense. Over-regularisation happened when they encounter exceptions or irregularities to the pattern and makes the mistake of applying the general rule. Common English over-regularisation - buyed for bought.


	10. Kunimitsu's Tennis

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 10: Kunimitsu's Tennis**

After the long rally with Hokage-senpai, he decided that playing forehands with both hands is not his style of tennis. It was a useful element of surprise in a pinch. And maybe when he needed the extra reach. But he didn't like changing grip all the time. Half the time, he felt like he was cheating. It made him feel bad. Still, being able to play tennis with either hand was useful, so he kept learning to play with both hands. Just like judo, Ojiisan insisted that all his students learn every technique from both left and right sides. It was only natural for him to think learning any sports with both hands was what is expected of him.

It took him twice as long to learn anything. The coach showed them techniques with right hand. He had to learn it right-handed, then reverse it for left-handed. But he was learning faster and more accurately on his left hand.

Sometimes, he got Mama to throw balls at him to practice. But after nearly breaking a window, knocking over the flowerpots and fishing many balls from the koi pond, it was unanimously decided that Kunimitsu should not be practising with tennis balls in the garden any more. He could still practise his swing and imaginary tennis, complete with self-generated sound effects.

Sometimes, Ayana would watch Kunimitsu from the kitchen window, or the verandah where Ojiisan and Kunimitsu had their morning zazen. She smiled gently when Kunimitsu announced a 'no-tachi-eisu' and made a big serve. This was followed by a small explosive sound and announcement of the score. He would then announce the next technique, followed by the action and the whizzes, whooshes, bangs and fizzes. She wondered where he learned some of those words he gave to various techniques. Some were obviously made up from random words and sounds, but some sounded suspiciously like English.

The next lesson week, Coach gave them a free training day. They could do whatever they wanted. Some of the children went to practise their serves. Some worked on the practice wall. Some decided to play practice matches. Kunimitsu decided to watch Yanagi-san play against Akira.

"Kunimitsu, did you see that?" Akira threw himself down next to Kunimitsu. "Ah! I'm so tired. It's really hard to win even one point from Yanagi-san."

Yanagi smiled. "You are too predictable, Suzuki-kun."

"What? I did vary my groundstrokes and lobs..."

"But I always know when you are going to hit it and where."

Akira looked at Kunimitsu. Kunimitsu shook his head. "I can't tell at all."

"Tell me! Tell me!" Akira tugged at her sleeves.

Yanagi cleared her throat. "It's simple. I watched you carefully. When you want to aim somewhere, you look at me, then the place you want to hit. You also take a step back when you lob. If I stand a little to the right, you will aim for my left side. I can force you to hit where I want just by standing in a particular position."

"Wow! Really? I never noticed."

"It's just normal habits. Most people have it. You just have to watch carefully."

"Does Kunimitsu have habits too?"

"Lots of them." Yanagi said with a wink.

"Tell! Tell!"

Yanagi shook her head. "Why don't you play Tezuka-kun and see if you can spot them for yourself."

"Come on, Kunimitsu!" he half pulled Kunimitsu from his seat, bouncing excitedly.

Kunimitsu tried to see Akira's habits, like Yanagi-san said. It was really hard even when when he was paying special attention. He did catch Akira turning his head to where he aimed, but it was really fast. If Yanagi-san had not mentioned it, he would not have noticed it either.

Worse, he was suddenly very self-conscious that he was looking at the place he aimed, just like Yanagi-san said Akira did. He tried not to look, but it was even harder.

He tried standing a little to the right, to see if Akira will hit to the left. He felt exposed, since the left court is wide opened. But since he knew Akira was going to hit there, and when Akira actually did, he was able to react faster and reach the ball in time to slam a volley past Akira. He was beginning to understand how he can control the game by subtly controlling the choices Akira can make in a split second.

Finally, they ended the game at 11-9 in favour of Kunimitsu. Yanagi-san clapped her hands and praised them both.

Akira bounced excitedly. "I saw it! Kunimitsu looked at the place he was about to hit too." Yanagi nodded. "But Kunimitsu's balls feel weird."

"Weird?" Kunimitsu tilted his head. "Is it bad weird?"

"It feels strange."

"Hmm ... Yes, you could say that," Yanagi said after some thought. "Tezuka-kun has a tendency to slice his balls. Also, because he is left-handed, the spin is reversed from a right-handed slice. That's why it feels different."

"Ah," said Akira.

"Bad?" blurted Kunimitsu.

Yanagi laughed. "Good for Tezuka-kun. Bad for Suzuki-kun."

Kunimitsu stared at Yanagi thoughtfully. Good for him, bad for Akira. Was that a good or bad thing? He did not understand. Yanagi didn't sound disapproving, but if it is bad for Akira, maybe he should not do it any more. But he liked the sliding feeling when he hit the balls that way. "Yanagi-san ..." he hesitated, not quite knowing how to frame the question.

"Tezuka-kun, it is a good thing. You should use it to help you win your games. Suzuki-kun should practice more against you until he learns how to deal with it. Otherwise, he will have the same weakness against left-handed players." Two heads nodded in unison. "Tezuka-kun, what else did you learn?"

"Akira have a weak backhand."

Yanagi nodded. "So do you. Most people have a weaker backhand than forehand. If you aim for their backhands, the probability of unforced errors is higher."

Kunimitsu remained silent as he pondered her words. Yanagi-san was really smart. Now that he thought about it, his backhand was weaker than his forehand. Two out of ten times, he would hit the net. Three out of ten times he would miss the ball entirely.

Yanagi let the boys mull over that. She looked up as Yuki called to her. "Okay boys, time's up. Yuki is back from the storeroom." She gave them a little wave as she joined Yuki for their drill.

"It's your turn to pick. What do you want to do next?" Akira said.

"Let's practice backhand," said Kunimitsu.

"And not looking at where we aim the ball," said Akira.

Kunimitsu nodded. He would practice his backhand till it was even better than his forehand.


	11. Ojiisan and friends

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 11 : Ojiisan and friends**

One morning, before Ojiisan left for work, he said, "Kunimitsu, would you like to follow Ojiisan today after school?"

Kunimitsu cocked his head. It was not a judo day. Ojiisan was usually busy or out of the house during this time. Kunimitsu spent Thursdays in the garden with his Mama, pulling weeds and watering plants. He did not say anything. But he looked at his Mama.

Mama smiled and said, "I'll bring you to Ojiisan's office after school."

Kunimitsu nodded. Maybe Ojiisan thought he was grown up enough to do Ojiisan things.

"Bring your shougi box," said Ojiisan before he left.

After school, Mama bathed him and dressed him in long pants. She let him choose which shirt he wanted, so he picked the white one with picture of a big blue train and long sleeves. Then Mama rubbed special creams on him. One for the sun and one for the mosquitoes. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of the second one. Then, he sat quietly to colour two pages of his homework while Mama got herself ready.

Mama was dressed up all pretty in dark green kimono. Kunimitsu knew it meant she was going out for grown up dinner with Papa's friends. She packed his little backpack and showed him where she put his bento, water bottle and jacket. She wanted to pack his shougi box too but he shook his head and hugged it to his chest.

Mama took him to another building, not the usual one where the dojo was. This one was all glass and locked doors inside. Everyone there had a badge and some wore dark blue uniforms. Kunimitsu had a badge too. It hung down to his knees. It was big and white and had the word 'Visitor'. He recognised Saitou-niisan from the dojo. Saitou-niisan gave him a sweet and told them to wait at the reception while he called Ojiisan down.

Ojiisan came to meet them accompanied by three other men. Suddenly, everyone were quietly busy. They stood or sat straighter and alert. Kunimitsu wondered what was it about his Ojiisan that his mere presence commanded attention. Even Saitou-niisan who was always relaxed and friendly put on his serious face. Then Ojiisan introduced Mama and Kunimitsu to his friends. Saitou-niisan winked at Kunimitsu behind their backs when Kunimitsu stood up, put on his own serious face and bowed politely. Then, Mama was handing over Kunimitsu's bag to Ojiisan and telling Kunimitsu to be on best behaviour.

Yoshida-san, who was the youngest among his Ojiisan's friends, drove them to a lake. Even so, he was older than Kunimitsu's Papa and had grey hair like Ojiisan. Then, there was Yamada-san, who was mostly silent with sharp piercing eyes that made Kunimitsu uncomfortable. Finally, there was Kimura-sensei who worked with Ojiisan at the dojo. Kunimitsu was most familiar with him. Kimura-sensei, a stocky muscular man with bellowing voice, was a 8-dan judoka even older than Ojiisan. Everyone deferred to him at the dojo. The other students were afraid of him, but Kunimitsu liked him best. He always spoke kindly to him. After practice, he sometimes picked Kunimitsu up and tossed him in the air till he was dizzy and breathless. Ojiisan said he missed his grandchildren who moved faraway to Hokkaido. So, Ojiisan did not protest too strongly when Kimura-sensei spoilt him shamelessly. He also liked to tease Ojiisan and called him a young buck.

They set up quickly and started fishing with familiar efficiency. Each of them had a little stool, even Kunimitsu. But Kimura-san put Kunimitsu on his lap. He showed Kunimitsu how to bait and cast the line. He even let him hold the handle, wrapping his big callused hand around Kunimitsu's small ones. Then they waited quietly until Kimura-san jerked the pole suddenly. In seconds, he had reeled in a wriggling silvery fish. Kunimitsu's heart was still beating hard and fast from the excitement when Kimura-san was done unhooking the fish and casted the line back into the water.

Kunimitsu wriggled out of Kimura-sensei's lap to squat by the big pail. The fish swam round and round at the bottom. Its beautiful scales flashed in the sun like silver.

Kunimitsu watched Yamada chucked another catch into his bucket. Kunimitsu ran over to his side. It was the strangest looking fish he had ever seen. It had dark grey body with long whiskers.

"Don't touch it," Yamada warned him gruffly.

Kunimitsu scooted back, even though he wanted to have a closer look at the fish. He apologised and went to sit quietly by Ojiisan, considerably chastised. Ojiisan had caught 3 fishes in his pail. He stared at them sullenly. When Ojiisan offered to let him try fishing, he shook his head and twirled his finger around the grass blades growing by the side.

Yoshida leaned over to his side, then whispered conspiratorially, "Don't worry, Tezuka-kun. Yamada-san only eats children for breakfast. He's not hungry now."

Kunimitsu stared at him with wide eyes. Suddenly, a small pebble hit Yoshida in the middle of his forehead. "Stop saying nonsense to the kid," Yamada scolded him.

"Then you should explain yourself better, boss. You shouldn't scare nice little boys like Tezuka-kun." He gave Kunimitsu an encouraging push. "Go on, Tezuka-kun. He won't bite."

Kunimitsu shook his head and pressed closer to Ojiisan. He mustn't cry or make a fuss. But he didn't want to go near Yamada-san to be scolded again. He didn't even know why he was scolded. If Yamada-san had said '_don't run_', at least he knew what he did wrong.

"Tezuka-kun?" Yoshida kept trying to persuade him.

"Kunimitsu!" Kunimitsu winced at his Ojiisan's tone. "Come now. Yoshida-san is talking to you. Stand up straight and answer properly."

Kunimitsu slowly unfolded himself and stood up. He knew he wasn't on best behaviour and Mama would be disappointed if she found out. He went to Yoshida's side. He bowed and apologised. Ojiisan nodded approvingly. He hoped Yoshida-san would be distracted and dropped the subject. But Yoshida-san said, "It's okay, Tezuka-kun. Go ahead. Yamada-san doesn't bite." He even waved his hand encouragingly at Kunimitsu.

Kunimitsu glanced at his grandfather for reassurance before walking back to Yamada's side. Yamada cleared his throat uncomfortably. He could see, by the twinkle of Kimura's eyes, Kimura was trying not to laugh. "This is a catfish,"he said stiffly. "It can sting. You can look, but don't put your hand inside. Okay?"

"I won't," promised Kunimitsu solemnly. Yamada patted him awkwardly.

"I'm so jealous!" Yoshida said. "Tezuka-kun likes Yamada-san better than me."

"That's your own fault. You have nothing but water in your pail," retorted Ojiisan.

"Mou! Be nice to your driver, Tezuka-san. Come play shougi with me?"

"Don't distract me. I am going to catch that wily old trout today."

"You've been saying that for 10 years, Tezuka-san. It has died of old age waiting for you."

"It better not die before me!" Ojiisan said testily. "Kunimitsu will play with you."

"Kunimitsu? Tezuka-kun plays shougi?" said Yoshida, looking at the little boy.

Kunimitsu, on hearing his name, looked up from the catfish. "Shougi," he said, looking at his empty hands. "Ah...?" He glanced around. Then he ran back towards the car.

Yoshida stood up and set his pole aside. "Don't worry. I'll watch him," he said to Kunikazu and hurried after Kunimitsu.

Once Kunimitsu retrieved his shougi set and proudly showed it off to Yoshida, the two settled down to play a game. Yoshida reeled in his line and set his pole aside while Kunimitsu set up the tiles. At that point, Kunimitsu realised Yoshida-san never baited his hook. He went through all the motions of fishing without the intention of catching any fish. Kunimitsu did not understand why he did so. But it made him feel better that he was not distracting Yoshida-san from his usual routine just to babysit him. All was well again and Yoshida-san was pleased to be Kunimitsu's new favourite person.

Silence settled over the group, punctuated occasionally by a splash, the rustle of leaves, and the click of shougi tiles on wooden board.

"Tezuka," said Kimura-sensei. "Kodokan's Tsukinomijudo tournament starts next month."

"Aa," said Ojiisan. "Are you refereeing this time?"

"No, I'm going to be busy with organising Kantou exhibition. I am recommending you as replacement. Hope you don't mind."

"It's no problem."

"Bring Kunimitsu-kun with you. It's a good opportunity to expose him to tournaments."

"Hn."

"Speaking of Kantou Police Exhibition, where are they organising it this year?" Yamada-san asked.

"Yokohama," answered Kimura-sensei. "Is your Aikido team ready?"

"Aa," said Yamada. "We have a good chance this year to take the trophy."

"Hey, Yoshida! Are you ready to take Sanada down?" Kimura looked severely at Yoshida. "Tokyo Met can't lose Kendo five times in a row to Kanagawa! It's embarrassing."

"Yes, sir," said Yoshida-san. "We will do our best this year, Kimura-san. We have all ready started intensive training. Although, that Sanada is really a monster. Just one look and all my students get nervous!" Yoshida laughed.

"Then you are training them wrong. You should teach them to stare down Sanada," Yamada jabbed at him.

"Ah, boss! If I do that, we have to close down for a week to recover from severe stomach ache. You don't want their supervisors to come after your poor indispensable assistant, do you?" Yoshida looked pitifully at the Chief of Personnel.

Yamada snorted and ignored him.

"You knew his father, didn't you, Tezuka-san? Sanada-ojii." Yoshida changed the subject. "I heard he was quite formidable in his heyday. How did you know him?"

"Aa. An old friend," said Ojiisan. "I play shougi with him sometimes. Kendo runs in his family. Even his grandson is making waves in junior kendo now."

"Eh?"

"Yoshida, Tezuka was originally from Yokohama. He transferred to Tokyo Met just before you joined," said Kimura-sensai.

"Kimura stole Tezuka from Kanagawa HQ to strengthen Tokyo Met's Judo division," Yamada chipped in.

"I did no such thing!" protested Kimura. "Don't start such troublesome rumours. Kobayashi-sensei, who was Head Judo Instructor back then, was impressed by Tezuka's performance during one of the Kohaku tournaments. I think he was surprised a small man like Tezuka managed to throw Yumi-the-ogre. Ah ... that was a beautiful _seoi-nage_. The way he flew over your shoulder ..." He paused and blinked. "Tezuka! You threw him over your left shoulder!"

"Aa. I preferred left-sided throws in competition. Not many people are as well guarded against that."

"Hmm ... I see. Strange I never notice it back then. You all ready had your sneaky tricks from that long ago."

"Hn."

There was a pause after that. Without Kimura's further comment, Yoshida couldn't stand it any longer. "Kimura-san ... do you really understand what Tezuka's 'hn' means? I don't get it at all. I mean it could mean anything."

"Or nothing?" Kimura looked at Yoshida strangely.

"But ... you seem to know what to say ... I mean ..."

Kimura laughed. "After you get to know Tezuka well, it becomes obvious."

"Eh? What does it mean? I don't get it ... Tezuka-san ..."

But Kunikazu remained silent. It was Yamada who answered. "It means there is nothing more to say. It was obvious Kimura was careless and unobservant for not noticing it from the beginning. It was now obvious to both of them and it was not worth Tezuka saying it again and embarrass Kimura further."

"Oh ..." There was an awkward pause. Yoshida fidgeted uncomfortably. "Ah ... it's getting dark. Are you guys hungry?"

"I'll get the food," Kunikazu said. He planted his pole into the ground and head off to the car.

"Wouldn't you say Judo runs in Tezuka family too?" Yamada said quietly as Kunikazu disappeared from view.

Yoshida laughed and said, "That depends on our little Mi-chan here. It can't run in the family till there's 2 generations."

"Mi-chan? Oi! Don't get too familiar and give weird nickname to the boy," Kimura protested.

"I'd say ... Mi-chan is fourth generation judoka. Am I right?" Yamada looked sharply at Kimura. "Not as impressive as Sanada family, still ..."

Kimura frowned at Yamada, then sighed softly. "Don't go bringing up unnecessary things. Is that your way of telling me you know every little secret in the office?"

"I'm just saying it's unlike you to let that one big fish get away. You've had your eye on ... what was his name? ... Haru-chan? Ah, You had your eye on Haru-chan for a long time."

"Haru-chan? Who is that?" Yoshida asked. He did not remember any personnel called Haru, even as nickname. And he ought to know, since he handled most of the personnel files for Yamada. And Yamada had a quirk of tracking personnel by nicknames. When they don't have one, he simply gave one to them for his convenience. It eventually circulated back to the rest of the staff and became permanent.

Kimura's jaw tightened and he flicked his wrist irritably. "There's not point wishing for the impossible. I would not force a boy against his will anyway."

Yoshida turned to Yamada curiously. "Who is Haru-chan?"

"Tezuka Kuniharu. One of seven students to gain 2-dan black belt in junior high. At 15, he was all ready assistant-trainer in junior _mudansha (non-black belt) _classes."

"Papa!" Kunimitsu exclaimed when he heard his father's name. The rest of the conversation simply went over his head.

"Yes, Kunimitsu's papa," said Kimura with a smile.

Yoshida smiled at Kunimitsu. "Kimura-san said Tezuka-kun's papa was amazing."

"Papa is best papa!" Kunimitsu agreed proudly. Then Yoshida pointed back to the board. Kunimitsu obediently went back to frowning at the board. Yoshida-san had blocked most of his pieces with only half an eye on the game. He was a much tougher opponent than Ojiisan.

"What happened?"

"After Tezuka moved to Tokyo, Kuniharu dropped out of judo scene completely," said Kimura reluctantly.

"Haru-chan put three of his senpai in hospital," interjected Yamada.

Kimura shot Yamada an annoyed look, but Yoshida had caught on. "Gang fight? Even so, he must be really impressive to take out three persons."

"Four," said Yamada. "The last one blacked out from a choke and escaped with minor bruises."

"You're not supposed to know about all that." Kimura glanced back to check if Tezuka had returned. He lowered his voice and said, "Tezuka got called by the school. There were hours of closed door meeting. It was a disgrace to the judo community. Several senior Judo Federation officials got called in, including Kobayashi-sensei. Luckily, Tezuka just transferred in, so he was technically still the new guy in town and haven't found his footing yet. So, Kobayashi-sensei managed to rein him in."

"Koba-jii should have just let him file a formal report," said Yamada.

"You don't know what happened. None of us really do. Even Kuniharu refused to make a statement or explained the incident. If Kuniharu refused, there's nothing we can't do about it."

"The school team was disqualified from all official tournaments that year. Those involved were suspended, nearly expelled. It was obviously a school fight. Nobody gets a broken collarbone by _falling down_."

"So the school just hushed it up?"

"It made a stir in judo community. But most people outside would not know about it." Kimura gave a pained sigh. "Tezuka can be quite stubborn when he feels like it. His voice carried weight even then. Kuniharu was one of the few darlings in Kanagawa. He was scouted by many Kanagawa high schools. They were understandably upset when Tezuka uprooted the family and moved to Tokyo."

"Upset? That's an understatement. Rikkaidai High School offered a full scholarship and dorm privileges for his entire senior high to entice Kuniharu to stay in Kanagawa. Not to mention they hoped he would continue on to enrol in Rikkai University when he graduates. I understand judo is quite competitive at university level." Yamada reeled in another catfish. "If Tezuka had not been so stubborn, Kuniharu would have gone back to Kanagawa. As it was, I had a busy time trying to protect both of them from busybody reporters and school officials."

Kimura sighed deeply. "We lost him, that was all there was to it. Hindsight is perfect, Yamada. But at that time, we thought both of them needed time to grieve and reconcile. Tezuka believed that Kuniharu would eventually return to Judo after he had time to cool off."

"He did not."

"Kuniharu proved to be as stubborn as his father, even if they seem to be completely opposite."

"If you say so. I know you and Koba-jii thought Tezuka was over reacting when it comes to his own son. But I don't think he was wrong to call for more severe disciplinary actions. Humility, respect and sportsmanship have their place in Martial Arts. Over-competitiveness and bullying do not. Their behaviour ... and that coach. It gives us a bad name. I cannot agree to let this kind of _education_ continue." Yamada shifted his stance to look directly at Kimura. "Aikido and Judo are closely related. What happens in the one community affects the other. Of course I would have investigated it thoroughly. Besides, it was my department's duty to monitor all our personnel."

"I know where you are coming from. But some things are private and none of your business. Some things, we will never know for certain without Kuniharu disclosing his side of the story," said Kimura.

"Yes. Fortunately, it did not escalate to become my business. But what makes you think he didn't?" Yamada said mildly.

Kimura stared at Yamada in surprise. "What?" Looking at Yamada's carefully bland expression, he said, "You know something."

"As you said, it's not my business or yours."

"Yamada ..."

Yamada glanced briefly at Kunimitsu and his expression softened. "It's amazing what tales a lonely young boy will tell a sympathetic stranger."

"He told you! Dammit, Yamada, you should have said something."

"As Koba-jii and you made it clear, it was none of our business. It was private family matters, not work related at all."

"Still ... what really happened?"

Yamada was quiet for a moment. "I supposed, it doesn't matter now," he said quietly. "According to Haru-chan, the coach was gloating over getting the 2-dan _Captain _of_ All Japan Junior High Judo Champion_ in their Judo Club. He compared Haru-chan with the other members and criticising them. It caused jealousy and ill-feelings between most members and him. Haru-chan himself was not too happy about the situation. He just wanted to play judo and go back to his old friends."

"Now, most people think Haru-chan is pretty dense kind of guy. Good-natured, impulsive, but not too bright. But it doesn't mean he is stupid. Personally, I find him intelligent, but naive. He knew the coach was using him to threaten and humiliate the other members. He didn't like it at all, but he didn't know what to do. Everyone shunned him, even the weaker members."

"He didn't like the atmosphere at school club. Coach who talks down on students and insult them, encouraging strong members to bully and intimidate weaker ones. Naturally, the senior regular members were threatened by his presence. They ambushed him just outside school and told him to leave the club. Then they try to beat the message into him. He wasn't going to take that lying down. He defended himself. The injuries were inevitable when you consider that they were out on asphalt and concrete, not soft tatami mats."

"He was attacked! I knew it! But why won't he speak up?" Kimura frowned.

Yoshida looked from Kimura to Kunimitsu. Yoshida knew he was playing a much more advanced game than Kunimitsu was capable of. Yet Kunimitsu had not complained or whined about losing badly. And he had three straight losses all ready. He was still working out his strategy to his best ability, frowning and muttering to himself. He smiled. "It's easy to understand, Kimura-san. Tezuka-san does not raise weak and whinning children. Whatever happened to Haru-chan or Mi-chan, they will work out their problems on their own without complaints."

Kimura turned to look back at Kunimitsu and Yoshida, then at the shougi board Kunimitsu was struggling to decipher. Looking at Yoshida's tile placements, he gave a low growl. "What were you thinking? Playing at 4-dan level with a five-year-old child. Can't you adjust your strategy and put in some handicap?"

"Ah ... I forgot. But he is doing quite well, isn't he?"

Kimura snorted his disapproval.

"Actually, I had a lot more respect for Tezuka after I talked with Haru-chan," said Yamada. "He'd been training under good teachers, his father included. It seems, Tezuka was teaching Haru-chan judo as self-defence and personal development. The kind of judo taught in police dojo, not sports club. You know better than me, the techniques that he would be exposed to. I suspect, some of those are illegal in judo competition. Training that emphasised how to take down your opponents and stay alive; not how to win points or not lose points with rules and loopholes."

Kimura nodded in agreement. He knew his old friend well and had seen him raised Kunimitsu similarly.

"Haru-chan knew things were not right in school, but he was too young and immature deal with it. It worked into his resentment for moving to Tokyo and his father's unreasonable actions, including forcing him to transfer into the school he didn't want that started all that mess. In the end, he hated everything to do with his father, including judo." At that, Yamada sighed softly. "I'm sorry, I tried my best to talk him out. But it's hard to explain things without revealing my identity."

Kimura shook his head. "He was only 16."

"2-dan at 15 and working on getting 3-dan. Tezuka is ambitious. I supposed he has the same expectation for his grandson too."

Kimura nodded grimly. "It is still too early to tell. The boy seemed happy with judo now."

"I wonder what will happen if the boy feels otherwise ..."

Kimura shrugged. "That is neither yours nor mine business." Kunimitsu was only five. He wondered what the boy would be like in another ten years.

That was the end of the subject as Kunikazu returned with their packed dinners.

* * *

**Note:**  
Ah ... Poor Tezuka. Now he's stuck with a bunch of grandfatherly babysitters. Sorry, this chapter is rather long. Almost 4k words and no good place to put a chapter break.

*Catfish has spines that can inject mild venom that stings or itches.

* Tokyo Met - Short for Tokyo Metropolitan Police Force

* Judo references

- Black belt in judo and shougi are divided into several levels, from _shodan _(level 1) to nth-dan (unlimited in judo, but in practice 10-dan). Black belt levels are collectively called _yudansha_.  
- Below black belt, the rankings are from 7-kyu (lowest, depends on dojo, can start from 9-kyu) to 1-kyu (highest). These collectively called _mudansha_.  
- Tsukinami-shiai is monthly tournament for Judo organised by Kodokan Dojo. Winning enough points in these tournaments can provide belt promotions up to 4-dan.  
- Kodokan Dojo is founding dojo of Judo and considered mecca of Judo worldwide.  
- Aikido and Judo are both descendants of Jujutsu.

* Tokyo Metropolitan personnel:  
- Yamada – Head of Personnel – Aikido master  
- Yoshida – Yamada's assistant aka right-hand man – Kendo instructor  
- Tezuka Kunikazu - Chief Judo Instructor – Judo 7-dan  
- Kimura – Head of Training Bureau – Judo 9-dan  
- Saitou – Admin staff – Judo trainee


	12. Destinies and Wishes

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 12: Destiny and Wishes**

It was early July and Summer was upon them. At 11 am, it was sweltering hot even on the shaded bench. Kuniharu, as usual, was with his golf buddies out on the green. Ayana fanned herself as she watched the tennis coach dismissed the morning class. The older children, two ten-year-old girls and a boy had paper forms with them. Ayana smiled as they ran eagerly to their awaiting families.

"Mama!" Kunimitsu ran to her side. She passed him his water bottle and wiped his face with a wet towel.

"Tezuka-san," the coach followed behind Kunimitsu with some papers in his hand. "The club organises a tennis tournament every year. I would like to enter Tezuka-kun into the U9 Singles category. It's for 8 years old and below."

"Tournament? He is too young ..." Ayana looked indecisively at Kunimitsu. It meant he would be playing against boys older than him. She wasn't sure if Kunimitsu was ready for the competitive aspect of tennis. She didn't want him to get disheartened and discouraged from playing. Nor did she want to over stress him with competition. Tennis was for fun and to let him socialise with other children.

"Please, Mama?" Kunimitsu hugged her arm excitedly.

"It is not as competitive as you think. It's mostly for young children and beginners."

"Umm ... I need to discuss with my husband."

"Take your time." He handed a stack of papers to Ayana. "These are the registration and consent forms. These are the details and rules of the tournament. It's on 25th August, during the summer break. It won't interfere with his school. If you have any questions, please contact me."

Ayana nodded as the coach excused himself to talk to another parent.

"Mama! Say yes! Say yes! Yanagi-san is going too." Kunimitsu said eagerly as he pointed at a girl who was giving him a thumbs up.

She recognised her as the girl who was training with him after lessons some time back. Her parents gave her polite nods while her younger brother looked at Kunimitsu calculatively. He looked about Kunimitsu's age.

After exchanging pleasantries and introductions with the Yanagi family, Yanagi's mother reassured her that yes, her son was also going to join. He was also 5 years old and no, 5 is not too young. Besides, all the children in the lower categories will get a prize just by participating. The unspoken reassurance that all the children will be treated like winners, win or lose.

"For the U9, they only play one-tiebreak game to 7 points. It should take less than 10 minutes so it won't be too tiring for the young ones," Yanagi's mother explained. "Depending on the number of participants, they will probably play 4 to 6 games each. It won't be too tiring for the little ones."

"All of them will play the same format?" Ayana asked.

"No. Reiko is going for the U-13 category. They will play one full set, between 6 to 13 games. The older ones, U-17 and above, play 3 to 5 sets format."

"Are you going to join the U9 Singles too?" Kunimitsu asked the other boy.

"No," the boy said disdain. "I only play doubles."

"Eh?" Kunimitsu never heard of 'doubles' before.

"Renji is going to join U9 Doubles," said Yanagi.

"Doubles?"

"Yes, doubles," Renji said. "Nee-chan, I told you this club is lousy. He doesn't even know what doubles is. You should have come to my tennis school."

Yanagi shook her head. "I'm not going to join a club full of spoilt brats and little monsters. Besides, I like Singles. And my club is better than your club."

Renji stuck his tongue out at his sister. "No. My club is better than your club!"

"No, mine!"

"Mine!"

"Enough!" Yanagi's father said. Her mother excused themselves and ushered her family off.

"Doubles?" Kunimitsu looked at his mama.

Ayana shuffled the papers around. "It says here, it's a game with four players instead of two."

"Oh." Kunimitsu scratched his head. How would he play tennis with three others? It was hard enough to concentrate on one opponent. Akira must be right. Yanagi-san's brother must be really good.

A few days later was July 7th. It was Tanabata festival. Tezuka family went to the temple for prayers. When they were done, they went for a walk around the temple grounds. Mama showed Kunimitsu a stand of bamboo hung with colourful paper decorations. There was a long wooden table with a stack of papers and some pens and crayons.

Mama gave Kunimitsu a strip of blue coloured paper. "Write your wish down," said Mama as she handed Kunimitsu a crayon.

"Wish?"

"Yes, anything you want. Then we'll hang it on the bamboo branch and the wish will come true."

Kunimitsu paused a moment. His Mama and Papa had not made their decision on the tennis tournament yet. So he wrote: _I wish Mama let me join tennis tournament._ He pause a moment and added _please._ Kunimitsu had learned early on that speaking a full sentence with _Please_ tacked on would get him anything from his parents. Throwing tantrums, screaming and crying would not earn him anything except forfeits and punishments.

He gave Mama the strip of paper. Then he saw Papa had a green one. "Mama, can I have a green one like Papa, please?"

Mama gave him a green one. He wrote: _Grow taller and Hokage-senpai not calling me Shorty please._

He thought some more. There are more colours from the stack where Mama took the papers. So many wishes waiting to be wished. A white one fluttered on top of the pile, held down by a piece for smooth stone. "Can I have the white one please?" he pointed.

Mama gave Kunimitsu the white one. He wrote: _6-kyu belt grade, please. Ojiisan promise._

He gave Mama the white one to hang up. Mama have a yellow one in her hand. She saw his face and said, "You want this?" Kunimitsu nodded eagerly. He was feeling rather hungry. He wrote: _Unagi, unacha, shira-yaki, unadon, unaju, uzaku everyday. No kimosui. Please._

Mama blinked when Kunimitsu gave her the yellow strip. Her son had a serious summer addiction!  
_  
_He took a black strip from the top of the stack himself. "Can I have this one, please?" Mama nodded. He tried to write on it, but his red crayon did not show up properly. It was like a special secret wish paper. He thought for a while. It needed a special secret wish. He wrote: _Beat Yoshida-san. Please. _He nodded to himself.

Ayana frowned when she saw what Kunimitsu wrote. He did not know the kanji for Yoshida, so he had written it with hiragana. "Who is Yoshida-san?" asked Ayana.

Kunimitsu tilted his head at Mama. "Ojiisan's friend."

"Why do you want to beat Yoshida-san?"

"Because he is good at shougi. Kunimitsu not win a game yet."

"Shougi? Aahh ..." Ayana was relieved that Kunimitsu was not thinking of anything violent. "Do you like playing shogi with Yoshida-san?"

Kunimitsu nodded.

"Even when you always lose?"

He nodded again.

"Why do you like playing with Yoshida-san?"

Kunimitsu scratched his head. "Yoshida-san plays sideways."

Ayana thought she had misheard him. "Yoshida-san likes to play sideways?"

"Like ... like ... " Kunimitsu furrowed his brow.

Ayana waited patiently for him to work out his response. He was too much like his grandfather, preferring to observe silently than chat incessantly. He also seemed to have better developed nuances of body language, preferring it to verbal communication. It was difficult for her to gauge his level of vocabulary and grammar compared to his more talkative peers.

She had hoped some of his father's charm would rub off on Kunimitsu, but he had not shown any sign of it. Kuniharu seemed to be able to talk non-stop. He could make any conversation engaging and interesting. Yet, at the end of the conversation, it left everyone feeling like they had a good time without any idea what they were talking about. Unfortunately, it also made him impatient and bored with slow speakers and those with slow reactions.

"Like?" Ayana prompted.

"Like ..." Kunimitsu frowned. "Like windows!"

"How is Yoshida-san's shougi like windows?"

"Umm ... when Kunimitsu put king inside house and lock door. But Yoshida-san come in window. Like that."

"Is it fun to play with Yoshida-san like that?"

Kunimitsu nodded. "Make new house. Yoshida-san cannot open. Open windows in Ojiisan house, like Yoshida-san," he said earnestly.

Ayana laughed and tweaked his nose. "Kunimitsu is clever. Kunimitsu makes new houses that is defensible against Yoshida-san's attack. And Kunimitsu is using Yoshida-san's techniques to attack Ojiisan's house."

Kunimitsu shook his head. "Yoshida-san always open Kunimitsu house. Eat Kunimitsu men. Then eat King. Ojiisan house is hard. More hard than Yoshida-san house."

"I'm sure you will find a way to attack Ojiisan's house. Kunimitsu's way."

"Kunimitsu way..." he said thoughtfully as Mama led him away.

* * *

Another 2 or 3 more chapters should cover 5-year-old Tezuka. Then, it'll be time to get him to grow up a bit more.

I have a question for my readers: How do you feel about story notes at the end of the chapters? These are my personal fact-pointers I used for story elements and quick guide/reminders. If they are too distracting, I will remove them in the future.

Notes:  
* Unagi - grilled eel  
* Unacha - Rice with tea (ochazuka) and unagi topping.  
* Shira-yaki - grilled eel without basting sauce  
* Unadon - unagi on rice bowl  
* Unaju - unagi on rice served in a box  
* Uzaku - unagi salad  
* kimosui - clear soup with eel liver

Ayana's conversation with Kunimitsu is a form of Motherese, a child-directed-talk to encourage young children to speak and an important process in language learning. Motherese have several types, such as using repetitions, rephrasing, extensions and taking turns in conversation. It is not about correcting the child's grammar or pointing out mistakes. But to provide samples of speech variations, vocabulary and expose the child to progressively complex language schematics. Another tactic of motherese is upping the ante: encouraging the child to form complete or longer coherent sentences, rather than giving single word answers that might had been acceptable at earlier levels. It is subtle message to the child that what was previously acceptable is no longer so.

In contrast, 5-year-old Tezuka is using simple words and short sentences to convey complex ideas beyond his vocabulary. Note not to make Tezuka sound too young with baby talk or too old with too complex speech/vocab.

Reference to shougi - house (castle) is Tezuka's simplified understanding castling; building defences for the king, where the king is surrounded and protected by other pieces.

Tanabata actually falls on the 7th day of 7th month of Lunar calendar. But Tokyo and parts of Japan have converted the day to Gregorian Calendar's 7 July. If following Lunar Calendar, the day falls somewhere in August. Hence, certain parts of Japan still holds the festival in August.


	13. Summer Days

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 13 : Summer days**

It was summer school holidays. Even though he did not go to school, Kunimitsu's days were full. On weekends, he trained for the up coming tournament at the club. His Mama and Papa had finally given permission to let him play. He felt very grown up, being allowed to play in tournament like Yanagi-san. He promised to do his best and practised diligently.

On weekdays, he had physical training with Ojiisan every morning. Then, zazen and shogi. When Ojiisan and Papa went to work, he helped Mama with household chores. He could not do much, but he could carry and fetch things for Mama.

In the mornings, Mama took him groceries shopping. They went to the vegetables shop, the fruits shop, the rice shop ... but Mama never buy anything out of the rice shop. Kunimitsu asked her why she always came out empty handed. She said it was magic. The rice would appear in their house the next day. And the next morning, when Kunimitsu peeped into the huge wooden rice bin, it was full again!

Kunimitsu liked the fish shop. He didn't like the dead fishes. But there were live prawns and crabs and octopuses and clams. He told Mama the crabs must have been naughty. They were all tied up in strings! He liked watching them. Even when they can't move their legs, their eyes will pop up and down like little arcade game he saw on the side of the street that he wasn't allowed to play with.

When they came home from shopping, Mama would do laundry. He liked stuffing the laundry into the washing machine and watch the clothes go round and round till he was dizzy. He didn't like hanging up the wet laundry though. He stood away from the wet cloths and helped pass the pegs to Mama. But sometimes, the wind was naughty and blew the wet laundry smack into his head and cold water dripped down his neck making him shivery and ticklish. But he liked collecting the laundry. He would carefully position the big basket at the bottom. Then, Mama would take off the pegs. With a light tug, it would slither into the waiting basket smelling nice and clean.

Near noon time, Mama would start cooking. Before that, she would sit Kunimitsu down in the living room with bits of paper and crayons or turn on the children's channel to keep him occupied. Then she would go into the kitchen. After a while, she would come out with steaming lunch on the table. Kunimitsu had his own plastic bowl full of rice. Mama would put bits of fish or meat on top. She would put in lots of vegetables too. He didn't mind most of them, but he didn't like the green smelly ones. He always picked them out again and put them aside. Sometimes, if he was careless, he would miss one. Then, there wasn't much he could do except screw up his face and swallow it. Ojiisan said: if it wasn't a bone, spoilt or something he wasn't supposed eat in the first place, whatever goes in, stays inside. When he made a face like that, Mama would tell him that if he eat more of the green things, he wouldn't hate it so much. But he shook his head. He would never ever like swallowing something that smelly.

Sometimes, he got tired of using the spoon. Then he would put some rice in his little hands and tried to roll it. Sometimes the rice stuck together and mushed up into a sticky gooey lump. Sometimes, it was clumps stuck to his palms and fingers. He had not quite mastered onigiri magic like Mama. It was all right for Kunimitsu to practice onigiri when he was alone with Mama. It is bad to do that at dinner where Ojiisan would scold him for playing with food. It did not matter with Papa, but Papa did not know onigiri magic and can't help him make one anyway. He liked Mama's onigiri best. She hid little bits of treasures inside the riceball and none of the smelly green things.

Then, it was nap time for Kunimitsu while Mama cleaned and tidy the house. When he woke up, Mama would tell him to go outside to play. He took his tennis racquet out and practised in the garden. Sometimes, Mama would stop by the verandah to watch him. When he got bored or tired, he took off his shoes and sat by the pond with his toes wriggling in the water. He made little waves and big waves. When he kept still, the colourful koi fishes would come close to his feet and nibbled at him. It was ticklish and made him giggle.

Sometimes, he would see frogs hiding under the leaves by the bank. Sometimes, there would be dragonflies flitting above the surface of the water. There were always bees and butterflies around the flower beds. When he was hot and sweaty, lying flat out on the cool grass, a butterfly would land on him so lightly he could barely feel it. There were even grasshoppers, big green ones and slim brown ones. One jumped on his arm once. He didn't like it. It was hard and scratchy, unlike the butterfly.

When Mama was done, there would be snacks and milk waiting for him. Then she would rest for a bit while Kunimitsu told her about what he did and saw in the garden. Sometimes, he would catch a beetle, spider or caterpillar in a clear glass jar to show Mama. Especially if they were brightly coloured like the ladybird. Mama would listen to him patiently while he pointed out the interesting bits. Then, with a strained smile, she would ask him to release them outside. Mama did not know all their names. But Papa always did, even though he had all ready released them before Papa came home. He would tell Papa what he caught in detail. Then Papa would go to the study, stare intensely at the bookshelf and pulled out a picture book. He would flip through the pages till he found the one Kunimitsu wanted. Kunimitsu thought Papa had magic eyes that could see through closed books.

Sometimes, he could persuade Mama to take him to their secret house. Not that it was really a secret anymore. It was a secret until Mama told Papa and Ojiisan and the neighbours. He forgot to tell Mama it was supposed to be a secret. But it felt like his special place to call it that. It was just an old empty house two blocks from their home. Kunimitsu found it when he went walking with Mama. The gate was opened and the garden was covered with cracked concrete. One plain wall made a nice practice wall for tennis. There were no ponds or flower pots to knock over. The windows were mostly broken or had wooden shutters, so Kunimitsu couldn't make them any more broken than they all ready were.

Mama brought a broom and swept the place clean. Kunimitsu even helped her check all over the floor for bits of stone, glass and rusty nail. When she was satisfied, she declared the area safe. Kunimitsu was allowed to run and play in it. He wasn't allowed inside the house. Only the section where Mama had cleaned and could see him from under the shaded verandah where she had laid out a picnic mat and drinks for him.

Sometimes, an elderly lady from house next door joined Mama. She would bring _sakura mochi _or _warabimochi_, all cool and sweet. Or _dango_ on sticks. Kunimitsu couldn't understand Obaasan very well. Mama said she was from Osaka and spoke with Kansai dialect. Mama asked did Kunimitsu like the snacks Obaasan made? Kunimitsu said he liked the _warabimochi_ best. He liked squeezing it till it was all soft and sticky in his hands. Even his fingers got stuck together. He ended up licking it from his hands. Mama laughed and said Kunimitsu had good taste. Obaasan's _warabimochi_ was genuine Kansai-style _warabimochi_.

Sometimes, Mama would bring Kunimitsu to the playground. There were swings, climbing bars, sand boxes, slides and see-saws. There were usually other children too. He didn't mind sharing. He liked having someone other than Mama to play with him. But he didn't like being pushed around and stepped on and knocked down. And most times, they yelled and screamed. When they got too noisy, he ran back to Mama with his hands covering his ears. Playground trips really tire him out.

In the evenings, he would go with Ojiisan to the weekend Mokudan dojo where Ojiisan taught part time. Even when it wasn't Sunday. Ojiisan's work place stopped their regular lessons during summer to prepare for their yearly tournaments. The normal students like Kunimitsu go to Mokudan or other dojos for lessons. Ojiisan and the other sensei took turns between special training with the contestants and running regular classes. It was the busiest time for them. Ojiisan said Kunimitsu was still too small to take part in _shiai _tournaments at Kodokan. But if he was a good boy, in October when he turned 5, Ojiisan would let him take his first grading exam at Mokudan dojo for _6-kyu _level white belt. Kunimitsu was glad he remembered to include that in his paper wishes. He was disappointed Ojiisan did not allow him to take his grading like the other children last year.

On other evenings, Kunimitsu helped Mama around the garden. He had a special responsibility to feed the koi fish everyday. One handful of fish food and no more. Mama said if he put too much food, the fish would get stomach ache. Kunimitsu did not like stomach ache. It was unpleasant and made him cranky. It was Mama's word for when Kunimitsu was feeling irritated and unhappy and didn't feel like being a good boy. So he was always careful not to put too much. He thought the koi wouldn't like to be cranky either.

And so, summer passed quickly day by day until the tournament.

Kunimitsu stared at all the people with wide eyes. He craned his neck here and there searching for Akira. Mama held his hand tightly so he won't get lost in the crowded assembly area. They were following Papa who had cancelled his usual golf game. He headed towards Ito-san who was surrounded by a group of men and women. Two of the women were dressed for tennis. Kunimitsu placed himself behind Mama, as far away from Ito-san's wife as possible. After exchanging pleasantries, Papa led them to the registration booth.

Kunimitsu met Akira at the registration table. Akira immediately monopolised him, pulling him aside while their parents handed in their forms and do mysterious adult things. They chatted excitedly. That was, Akira talked animatedly while Kunimitsu listened and contributed a word or two, elaborated with a tilt or a nod.

Ayana smiled as she kept an eye on both children to ensure they did not wander off. Akira bounced and gesticulated expansively while Kunimitsu stood still, but alert. They made an odd pair, Ayana thought, but Akira was good for Kunimitsu. Drawing his normal reserved self out. Connecting him to the other children. Kunimitsu would have stayed on the fringe if left to himself.

"So, that's the Kunimitsu Akira couldn't stop talking about." Akira's mother moved next to Ayana, leaving both their husbands do the queuing and waiting. "I hope Akira isn't being a bother."

"No," said Ayana. "He has been a good friend to Kunimitsu."

Akira was busy telling Kunimitsu that only three of their group would be playing in their category. The two of them and Seito. There were five other boys from other classes and clubs. Pointing out the court that they would be using and where the rest of the class would be playing and wondering if they could finish their games early enough to catch Yanagi-san's game.

"Kunimitsu has been a good influence to Akira too," Suzuki-san said. "He used to be such a scaredy cat, my Akira. Too shy to talk to anyone."

Ayana looked puzzled. The Akira before them was anything by shy.

Suzuki-san laughed. "I know. He has changed. One day, he came home and said this boy in his tennis class, Kunimitsu, wasn't shy or afraid of talking to the older and better players like the Yanagi and Kamiya girls." She shook her head."Then, you know what he said? He said, since he, Akira, is big brother to Kunimitsu, he has no reason to be scared or shy if Kunimitsu is not. So he made himself talk to everyone in tennis. Now, he's making friends with everyone in school."

"Kunimitsu helped Akira-kun make friends?" Ayana said in disbelief. Her reticent, too quiet Kunimitsu. While he was unfailingly polite and sweet-tempered, she would not say he was particularly friendly. No, not like his outgoing father, Kuniharu, who was laughing and chatting away with Akira's father to while away the waiting time. They looked like old friends instead of strangers that just met.

Suzuki-san nodded. "That boy, before he played tennis, he couldn't talk to anyone above a whisper. He was so afraid of disapproval that a frown or a harsh word would sent him crying."

Ayana smiled. "It's natural to want to be liked."

Suzuki-san nodded. "He got along well with Kunimitsu because Kunimitsu was always a willing listener and doesn't make fun of him." She laughed and said, "I think being onii-san to Kunimitsu and Seito made Akira feel grown-up and important. He had to be a good example and a good big-brother to his friends."

Ayana nodded. "I noticed. He was always looking out for the younger children during practice. He is a good responsible boy."

"Nice but too soft, is what his father said." She turned thoughtfully to look at the two children. "You know, one day, he came home with such a serious look on his face. He said, another boy was being mean to Kunimitsu at practice. He would have cried in Kunimitsu's place. But Kunimitsu did not get upset or cry. Instead, Kunimitsu challenged the scary senpai directly. He thought Kunimitsu was the bravest person he ever met. So he thought, he should not be afraid of that bad boy. He didn't have to like that boy, but it did not mean he had to be afraid."

"Aa." Ayana knew about that Hokage boy, who was a bit of a bully. It was not the first time Ayana wondered if Kunimitsu had any sense of self-preservation. He was fearless of older kids and strangers. Speaking his mind bluntly without hesitation, that is, if he felt like opening his mouth. It was probably his politeness and taciturn nature that kept him out of worst troubles. Still, as long as Hokage or anyone did not directly harm her Kunimitsu, she would do as her father-in-law asked: let him find his own way to deal with it.

At last, the paperwork were done. The group moved to the courts. The eight participants were divided into two blocks of 4 players each. They played round-robin within the blocks, ensuring each child gets to play at least 3 different opponents. The winner of each block would play each other for the first and second place. The runner-up of each block will play for the 3rd and for consolation place.

Kunimitsu and Seito were in Block A while Akira was in Block B. Each block were assigned a full court that had been modified for the youngest players. Instead of a full court, each halves of the court were converted into a mini tennis court with the net strung on the centre-line.

Kunimitsu's first opponent was a boy called Takumi. He started with a weak serve and Kunimitsu took the point with a return ace. The next two points, Kunimitsu kept both his services, bringing the score to 3-0. By then, he had pretty good idea that Takumi was just a beginner. Takumi double-faulted on his first serve, but finally pulled himself together to keep his service. At 4-1, Kunimitsu tried to serve easier balls for Takumi, but his control wasn't that good. His service was usually good enough to start rallies, not win them. Takumi missed both balls with poor timing anyway, bringing them to 1-6 and Kunimitsu's match point. Takumi was so nervous that he double-faulted again, bringing the match to a close at 7-1 in favour of Kunimitsu. The boy left the court crying, which made Kunimitsu feel very bad.

He turned around to find Seito had finished his match, losing 7-0 to Katsuo. Seito gave him a weak smile and congratulated him on his first match. He walked back to his Papa and Mama, thinking how sad it was to lose. Mama was all concerned, asking if he was all right. If he was too hot or too tired. He shook his head. He had hardly broke sweat on his first game. After 5 minutes break, he played against Seito. His heart wavered. He did not want to make Seito lose and feel bad. Especially after Seito had just lost a love game. They both played evenly, dragging the score to 7-7.

Seito was tiring. He could not understand why the game had dragged on when he knew Kunimitsu could play better than that. He had seen Kunimitsu played with Hokage and Akira. Kunimitsu was hitting the centre court like their practice rally. Easy balls to return. 8-9. Kunimitsu was keeping them to a draw. Kunimitsu would lose the next point to keep them even again. He gritted his teeth. It hurts to lose, but he had all ready lost. Kunimitsu was in complete control of their game score. Besides, it wasn't as humiliating as a love game, where he could not even get a single point. But it almost as bad when Kunimitsu was trying not to make him lose too badly. He let the ball slipped past him. Game, Tezuka Kunimitsu, 10-8.

"Save your energy for Katsuo," said Seito as brightly as he could when they shook hands. "He's really good."

There was a 20 minutes break before the third match. Coach and Yanagi stood by the score board discussing the current scores. Akira grabbed both younger boys and dragged them over.

"You all did very well," said Coach.

"Thank you," said Kunimitsu graciously while Akira grinned and skipped excitedly.

"Seito, you did well too," said Coach to the silent Seito. "Just play like you always do and you should be fine on next game."

"You can do it, Seito," said Yanagi. "I'll bet you can win the next one. I'm never wrong."

Seito smiled and said he would do his best. Yanagi-san would not lie to him. Her prediction gave him more confidence to play one more game.

"Suzuki, you did very well. You've won both matches so far. Your next opponent, Higurashi Tetsuya, is not too tough. Don't get over confident and just win the match. That will put you in Finals." Coach looked sternly at the bouncing Akira.

He grinned mischievously and saluted. "Yes, sir!"

"Tezuka, your next opponent is Moriyama Katsuo. So far, both of you have 2 wins. The 3rd preliminary rounds will mostly focus on your games. Based on the scores and the last 4 matches in Block A, it is obvious that both of you are the best players in the group. So this match will determine who will make it to Semi-finals and Finals. Do your best."

Kunimitsu nodded. Then the time-bell rang and they went to their places for their next matches. Yanagi-san went over to another court to watch her brother play doubles.

8-year-old boy Katsuo started the game with a powerful serve that won him the first point. Kunimitsu did not even have a chance to return it. Kunimitsu served the 2nd point and started a rally with steady deep shots. They were both playing cautiously, feeling each other out. Once Kunimitsu established a rhythm, he started inching closer to the net. On the 6th rally, he ran forward and hit a volley, catching his opponent by surprise. Kunimitsu lost the second service to Katsuo's passing shot when he tried approaching the net again. Then it was Katsuo's service again. Both his service aces were fast and steep angled with high bounce. Kunimitsu missed both as the ball sailed over his head. It put the score at 4-1.

It was Kunimitsu's turn to serve again. He squeezed the green ball in his hand. Katsuo was a tough opponent. Somehow, he had to do his best to keep his service games. He gave the ball one more squeeze and tossed the ball up. In the split second, he knew the toss was off, with the ball falling too far in front. He shifted forward and tried to hit it anyway. The racquet was past its high arc. When it hit the ball, it was on the beginning of his downward stroke. The ball shot forward, cleared the net by mere centimetres before landing on the service court. Katsuo was all ready in position to return the ball, but he remained frozen in mid-swing. The ball had floated past his knee, bounced low a foot behind him to roll right past the baseline.

"2-4," called the referee after a momentary shock.

Kunimitsu was equally surprised. He had thought the ball would end up hitting the net. He shook himself out of his shock and took out a new ball. This time, he managed to serve normally and start a rally. He kept his ground strokes deep and cross courts. When he rushed the net again, Katsuo lobbed the ball high. It was too late to run back, so he jumped, stretching his arm and racquet as far as he could reach to block it. It bounced off the top of his racquet face and dropped like a stone. It hit the top of the net and dropped into Katsuo's side.

"3-4!" Around the court were murmurs of 'drop volley' and 'cord ball'.

Kunimitsu took a deep breath as he landed. He managed to keep both his services. Now, he had to figure out how to handle Katsuo's service aces. There was one thing that he had seen the advanced class did when he had to wait for his Mama to pick him up. He bent forward in receiving position. As Katsuo tossed the ball, he started running to where he thought the ball would land. He missed it by 2 seconds.

"5-3!"

Katsuo smirked and went to serving position. Kunimitsu narrowed his eyes. Somehow, he had to hit the ball while it was within his reach. That meant hitting the ball just after it touched the ground. Before it had time to bounce way above his reach. When Katsuo tossed the ball, he dashed towards the ball again. It veered right. Without side stepping, he transferred the racquet to his right hand and swung it as the ball bounced off the clay. He was in time and the ball fell on the line in the opposite court.

"5-4!" There were loud cheers from the spectators with confused murmurs of 'being lefty or righty'.

Coach stared at Kunimitsu in amazement. "I don't believe it!" He grabbed another coach by the arm, shaking the person excitedly. "Did you see that? Did you see that?"

"He changed hand!" said his peer. "What did you teach kids these days?"

"No, no, he learned that all by himself. He's a natural lefty," Coach dismissed it with a wave. "Did you see that shot? That's a rising shot!"

"You teach rising shot to kids that young?" asked his peer.

"He picked it up all by himself!" Coach said excitedly.

"His form is off, but it's a good approximation," she smiled at her friend. "So far, he is the only one who managed to break Moriyama's service."

"Hmm ... His form reminds me of one of my high school student in intermediate class. He might have seen the boy practice."

"Oh? Interesting ... He plays well, when he isn't playing by the book." The woman coach regarded the small boy speculatively. "Send him my way when he grows up a bit more. Like after he has reached double-digits."

"Opportunistic as usual, Sumire-chan," said Coach.

A few minutes later, the referee announced, "Game and match, Moriyama Katsuo. 7-5."

"Good game," she said. "Not something I'd expect to see from baby tennis. I look forward to seeing him play again." With that, she headed off to the U-16 courts.

In the end, Akira came out top of Block B with 3 wins. He was scheduled to play Finals with Katsuo. Before that, with 2 wins each, Kunimitsu and Tetsuya would play semi-finals for third and consolation place.

* * *

**Notes:**

To my reviewers, thank you so much for your feedback! Here is another longish chapter for your reading pleasure.

I should thank my two colleagues for this chapter. They dragged me off to 'pretend to play tennis' one Friday night and gave me a little basic tennis lesson. We got a lot of weird balls due to beginner mistakes. One looked like Moon Volley, went up really high and just in, though it wasn't on the line like Oishi's.

*_Warabimochi _is a Kansai-origin tea-snack made from bracken (_warabi_) flour with a jelly like consistency, topped with black syrup and toasted & ground soya bean. Commercial ones usually substitute expensive _warabi _with tapioca or potato flour. Modern ones are made with a mix of _warabi _and other flour. Also, Tokyo versions varies from Kansai ones.

*Tezuka's 'bad' serve - backspin serve. The serve is hit with a back spin. Backspin causes the ball to 'float' (travel further than expected before it bounced) making the receiver misjudge the ball's trajectory. Backspin also causes the ball to have a low bounce (opposite to topspin that makes a high bounce).

*Katsuo's serve - topspin serve. Just about the most common and favourite serve for more experienced players.


	14. What is Tennis?

Merry Christmas and Happy 2011!

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 15: What is Tennis?**

Yanagi came back in the Singles courts with her best friend, Kamiya Yuki, in tow. When asked how was the Girls Singles, Yuki simply replied, "Boring. Wish I get a bye and a walkover like Reiko. We have a long break while they play first round of Open Women's Singles. Enough time for us to rest up and catch the U9 games."

Yanagi, on the other hand, reported that the Boys Doubles was predictable and Renji had made it to Finals as expected. The 4 courts used by the U9 Singles and Doubles were cleared for Junior U13. Only one was reconfigured for U9 Semifinals and Finals.

The Coach, after a few brief words, had gone over to the next court for last minute coaching before Hokage's first match. Yanagi explained that Hokage was last year's U9 champion. This year, he had moved to U13 category, which would put him in great disadvantage in terms of age, reach and experience. Coach had to pay special attention to Hokage's matches at this critical transition.

After some thought, Yanagi persuaded them to watch Hokage's match instead of the U9 Doubles Semifinals. Kunimitsu came back from the match with a concentrated thoughtful frown. Hokage, as expected, won the preliminaries. His opponent was even more skilled than Katsuo, who had beaten Kunimitsu in Block A. Hokage had some difficulty in the beginning, losing 2 straight games. Eventually, he smirked like he found a particularly juicy secret, then proceeded to dominate the rest of the match.

Hokage played like Kunimitsu had never seen him played before. Faced with such display of skill, he finally realised that Hokage had been holding back when he was partnered with Kunimitsu. He moved smoothly throughout the match. His form was good and timing perfect. He did not look like he was in a hurry, but floated to wherever he needed to be at the right moment. Suddenly, Kunimitsu felt inadequate and ignorant. Both feelings that he detested in himself and found intolerable. He had thought he had provided enough challenge to Hokage during tennis class. Hokage, in a real court, had shown him that he had barely mastered the basics. It was an unacceptable situation for Kunimitsu. He will master tennis: the basics, the strategy, the refinement, the everything.

It was with that pre-occupation that he started the semi-finals. He played with half a mind, going through all his knowledge and comparing his now seemingly limited capabilities against such high standards. He made a mental list of his inadequacies. He couldn't wait till the finished the current match and asked his Mama for a pencil and paper so he could write the list down and eliminate each weakness, item by item.

Yanagi frowned at the match unfolding before her. It ended 7-3 in Kunimitsu's favour. But he was different from his usual self. Like he wasn't even there. Each point was dragged through long rallies. As soon as the match ended, his opponent had quickly sought a drink and shaded bench after the long tiring game. Kunimitsu was not even breathing heavily, though his shirt was wet with sweat. In fact, he looked like he was still day-dreaming. Yanagi left her place and wend her way to his side.

"Tezuka-kun!" she shouted. Kunimitsu started awake, changing suddenly from half-dreamy to full focus. She had his full attention now, as she had wanted. "What were you doing out there?"

He closed the gap, looking up at her from their height difference. He tilted his head in the way that said he heard the question, but did not quite understood the meaning, or the answer expected from him.

She swore to herself silently. She was cautious enough never to say aloud those colourful words she had learned within earshot of so many parents hovering in the vicinity and in front of kids who were too young to figured out that there are some things you don't repeat to adults. When she felt calm enough to speak normally, she said, "That was the worst game I've ever seen you play. What were you doing?"

"Thinking", Kunimitsu said automatically. Then he blinked, suddenly remembering that he was in a tennis tournament that was supposed to be a competition. "Tennis."

"That wasn't tennis. That was a robot pretending to play hit the ball. What is tennis to you?"

"Hit the ball to the other side."

It wasn't wrong, Yanagi thought. But she was missing the point. Kunimitsu playing sub-par like it was a practice rally.

"Tezuka, why didn't you keep hitting the balls at Tetsuya?" Coach suddenly appeared next to them, having caught the last half of the match.

"So we can play tennis," said Kunimitsu simply.

"No. I mean why did you hit all the easily returned balls? Why not hit winners when you had the opportunity? Tetsuya gave you enough openings."

"But ... then ... then ... he can't hit back. Then we can't play more tennis."

Yanagi and Coach exchanged startled looks. Coach knelt down to Kunimitsu eye-level. "You mean to tell me," he said slowly, "that you kept hitting balls so that Tetsuya could return them to you?" Kunimitsu nodded. "So you can hit back." Kunimitsu nodded again, wondering why Coach was repeating everything Kunimitsu had been taught since he started tennis. "So you can play tennis as long as possible?"

Again, Kunimitsu nodded. He thought that was quite obvious. He liked playing tennis. And he liked hitting balls, which was what tennis was, if he boiled it down to the simplest term. If his opponent can't return his balls, then he can't hit more balls back. Then, it wouldn't be fun. Then, it wouldn't be tennis. It was simple as that. He thought everyone knew that. Especially given the limited number of rallies that the tournament format had given them. Not hitting balls means no tennis.

But Coach simply groaned like there was something fundamentally wrong with his logic.

Yanagi laughed; suddenly, loudly and hard. She shook her head and simply said, "Babies!" Then started laughing again.

"You are not helping," Coach said reproachfully.

"You're the coach!" Yanagi said between chuckles. "Wait till I tell Yuki!" She gave Kunimitsu a hug, heartily congratulated him and ran off.

_'At least', _thought Kunimitsu, _'Yanagi-san is not angry at me any more'_.

Coach pulled Kunimitsu aside, waving off his parents and a curious Akira. He thought there was a limit to how literal kids can take his instructions. Somehow, for someone as smart as Kunimitsu, he never thought how extremely literally it could be taken. He took the interval to reorder his thoughts. For a little boy, Kunimitsu's rationale was perfectly logical.

For most beginners, especially very young children like Kunimitsu, it was enough to get them learning tennis to the level they can play a decent rally. For such young children, he would be happy if they could manage 5 balls at practice and 3 balls in a match. Getting the children to be able to remember all the postures and all the complex movements required to serve and return balls properly was tough enough. At that age, they were lucky and happy enough to manage to hit the ball and get it over the net. Most rallies ended with unforced errors; like tripping over their own feet; or in the moment of excitement, forgot their postures and swing; got their timing wrong or simply exhaustion after a few rounds of running. So telling young children to try their best to hit the ball over the net was a good enough goal for them to try achieve.

Tezuka Kunimitsu, he thought between amusement and bemusement, had taken it literally to his best understanding. In his childish innocence had extended it beyond himself to his opponent as well. Not only Kunimitsu had to rally well, his opponent had to rally as well as him. Even if it meant helping the opponent by sending him balls he could return. If he, as Kunimitsu's coach, did not fix this misconception immediately, he would be the laughing-stock of Tokyo for the next 10 years. Kids! How was it that all the Child Education seminars never mentioned anything about kids like Tezuka Kunimitsu?

Then again, he never thought he would see someone like Kunimitsu dropped into his court. The boy's progress was phenomenal. His hand-eye coordination was better than most kids older than him. His determination and the way he taught himself to overcome whatever hurdles that stood in his way ... The coach shuddered. He was grateful he's just a tennis coach that taught the kid once a week. Kunimitsu sounded like a kid that reads textbooks two years ahead of the class instead of two days after.

First, he sat the little boy down and made sure he drank enough water. Then, he told him that he was very proud of the boy's achievements on his first tournament. After all, the boy had played exceedingly well and getting the 3rd place on his first try was no mean feat. Kunimitsu, who had looked at him rather apprehensively, visibly relaxed.

Next, he carefully explained that, while Kunimitsu was correct about what he understood as the coach's instructions about tennis, competitive tennis was slightly different from tennis lessons and tennis practice. The purpose was to take everything they had learned in tennis lessons to play to their best ability and win matches.

Kunimitsu helpfully pointed out that he did play to his best ability. After all, trying to hit exactly where he wanted the balls to land was really hard. And he tried to win all of his matches, even the one he lost.

The coach agreed. He ladled out another round of praises while he tried to think of another tack. He had to be quick. Kunimitsu's attention was wandering. The boy was too polite and well behaved to fidget. But he had been teaching kids long enough to recognise the glazed expression and the quick glances to the side where the U9 Doubles Finals was being announced. He went on to explain that in competition, Kunimitsu should play to score as fast and much as possible before he gets tired. Kunimitsu should use his accuracy to his the balls to corners and sides, not places within his opponent's reach. That means hitting balls that are hard to return. That means not helping his opponents to return the balls.

Kunimitsu frowned and remained silent for a few moments. Then he brightened up and nodded understanding. He should not help his opponents to return balls. But if they managed to return it, he just had to make sure he gets to hit it back. It was only fair. Coach, with some relief, dismissed him.

Kunimitsu was immediately pounced on by Akira and dragged away with barely a wave to his parents. Yanagi and Yuki had saved them a good spot to watch Renji play doubles. Matsuda, who was eliminated in the second round of U13, had joined the group. Matsuda and Seito were spread out between the two girls with their legs stretched out in front. Yanagi had strategically arranged the boys to deter anyone from standing in front and blocking their views. The latecomers squeezed in between Matsuda and Yanagi.

While they were waiting for the game to start, Yanagi started giving them a quick lesson on the doubles game. When Coach had found out that Yanagi had involuntarily been made den-mother by 4 enthusiastic boys (1 in absentia), Coach took the opportunity to make her teach the boys about doubles. So she explained the differences in court boundaries between Singles and Doubles, the paired players and the rules. Like Singles, the U9 Doubles also play a single 7-point tie-break.

Yanagi Renji was partnered with an 8-year-old boy, Hifumi Ichirou. Yanagi called them the One-Two pair. Having overheard her commentary, Renji give his sister a sour look before he served the first point. Matsuda laughed. Kunimitsu did not get what was funny about it. Akira helpfully pointed to the scoreboard, where Ichirou's name was written with a one (一) and Renji's was written with a two (二). Their opponents were identical twins. Both dressed exactly the same, except one in blue and the other in green. Seito called them the Blue and the Green and the names stuck.

Renji set a fast pace, serving to the corner. Yanagi gave a running commentary on their strategy. Highlighting how Ichirou was standing nearer the sideline. When Blue returned the ball straight, he easily hit a winner by making a cross court shot between the twins. She pointed out how the pairs positioned themselves to cover all the court. Then gleefully showed the boys how Renji and his partner pulled the twins' formation apart with a few strategic shots.

Kunimitsu's head was spinning trying to follow the game and keeping track of four players at the same time. Yanagi's explanations helped. But if left to his own, he would have lost track of who should be serving to whom on which side of the court. It was a much faster paced game and full of excitement. Both sides had kept their services into 8-8 tie, trading points back and forth. At last, the One-Two pair pulled ahead to win with 11-9. He thought he understood a little why Yanagi-san thought his was a boring match.

Next, the Singles Finals match was announced. Akira jumped up to take his turn. Like Kunimitsu, he had trouble with Katsuo's powerful serves. But he kept his own services well, dragging the game to 7-7. Finally, Katsuo broke his services, taking advantage of his weaker back hand. Akira lost the match at 7-9.

Then, there was much scrambling to get back to the girls' courts for their matches. Renji and Kunimitsu stood next to each other, exchanging nods. Neither spoke throughout the U13 tournament. Renji had a notebook with him that he listed Yanagi's mistakes and weaknesses exploited by her opponents. While Kunimitsu only watched Yanagi and Yuki's matches, Renji comes and goes during the matches. He ranged around the area, checking out Yanagi's next opponents. By the time Yanagi finished her match, Renji all ready had some details of her next opponent and weaknesses she can exploit. After Yanagi played the girl, she would tell him how accurate was his observation and what he missed from his initial assessments. Kunimitsu watched the two in bewildered silence, soaking up their knowledge, discussion and tactics.

Yanagi the tennis player was different from the normal kind and playful Yanagi-san. Her whole focus was centred on her games. She remained serious and all business. She did not joke nor tease Renji like she normally did. Akira whispered to Kunimitsu that Yanagi looked really scary and unapproachable when she was like that. Kunimitsu could only nod in agreement. Neither of them knew why they were whispering. But it felt improper to make too much noise and disturb Yanagi's intense concentration.

Yanagi's matches were even more intense than anything Kunimitsu had seen. Her pace was fast and furious. She had speed and precision, pin pointing shots that left her opponents in a daze. There was very little waste of motion and her techniques were smooth and graceful. Predictably, she took the first prize in her category at the end of the tournament.

After all the games had been played and all the prizes had been given, they all went home. When Ayana asked if he enjoyed himself, he gave her a thoughtful nod. Kuniharu shrugged. It was their Kunimitsu after all. It would be too much to expect him shouting and jumping with happiness like Akira. He had even forgotten his bronze medal while Akira was showing off his silver one to all and sundry.

Kunimitsu remained silent throughout the day, replaying various games he had seen. _So, that was what a tennis match look like_, he thought as he went to sleep. He had such a long, long way to go.

* * *

Note:

Thank you to all my reviews, faves, alerts and lurking readers. I'm glad you caught Ryuuzaki-sensei's cameo.

*Here is my crazy notion trying to rationalise Tezuka Zone to myself and making fun of it at the same time. Tezuka enjoys Tennis so much that he wants to play long matches and helpfully made sure his opponent's balls are always IN so he can hit as many balls as humanly (or Animeverse-ly) possible. *shakes head* Yes, his childish whim finally helped him put the fear of tennis into every tennis player he ever encountered, and managed to overcome their cheating ways of bending laws of gravity, aerodynamics, break the speed of light and other natural laws in the serious life and death game of tennis. *head-desk*

*In case anyone is wondering why Renji's partner is not Inui, I've decided not to let Tezuka meet Inui, since there is no indication that Tezuka knows Inui prior to entering Seigaku. Renji is Yanagi's brother to Tezuka, with limited association and easily forgotten when he grows up. Besides, it would be too much of a stretch for two 5-year-olds to beat two 8-year-olds.

* Minor sibling dynamics. Having both siblings taking up the same sports (tennis) can create intense competition and unpleasant rivalry, ala Fuji brothers. Yanagi-parents diffused this by having both in different clubs. Also, Reiko focusing on Singles while Renji specialises in Doubles is also another way for siblings to carve out their own individuality. This encourages the siblings to be more supportive rather than competitive.

* Ichirou = 一郎 (one son) - common boy's name.  
Sanada Gen(ichirou) and Ooishi Shu(ichirou) also has this in their names. Hmm ... that does make Golden Pair a One-Two pair too!  
* Renji = 蓮二 (lotus two)

* Tezuka is passionate person, but has stronger thinking function. He does not act melodramatic, but appears self-contained. He values competence in himself and others. He is a result-oriented kind of person, although his objectives are less obvious and more abstract. He is not competitive by nature. Rather than focusing outward, competing with others; he focuses on him own development and goals. He has the NT fallacy of setting the bar ever higher for himself; upping the ante, even to impossible heights. Especially when he finds out how high the bar can be set. INTJs are the virtuoso of NTs.


	15. Autumn Adventures

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

_Happy New Year 2011!_**  
**

**Chapter 15: Autumn adventures**

As Autumn rolled in, tennis season ended. Kunimitsu's tennis class closed for the year. The first Saturday had Kunimitsu crawling into his parents' bed, waking them at six in the morning and demanding to go to tennis. Kunimitsu was a creature of fixed routine, Ayana noted, as she picked the little boy up and wrapped him in warm blanket. Mornings had been growing colder and Kunimitsu was barefooted in his flannel pyjamas. She sleepily told him there were no more tennis lessons as she carried him outside.

Kunimitsu was silent for a long time. Then in a quiet voice asked if he had been naughty. Ayana blinked at the random change of topic. She reassured him that he had been a good boy as she set him down at the dining table.

He had been very naughty last week when he messed up the tool shed. He was trying to make a house for the neighbour's tortoise that had escaped into their garden. Ayana nearly fainted in shock seeing Kunimitsu next to the exposed saw, sharp garden shears and bits of nails strewn on the floor. Following a long lecture from both his grandfather and mother, both very different in concern and contents, Kunimitsu had been particularly well-behaved.

The proper punishment was to make him clean up the mess, but the many exposed sharp and pointy things, not to mention flammable and poisonous bottles ... Ayana shook her head. She should not dwell on it any more. Kunimitsu had been very strictly instructed not to go into the tool shed without adult supervision. Kuniharu installed a new lock. Kunimitsu was punished with polishing the wooden floor of the veranda. He was such a perfectionist, polishing every knot and dips in the wood till they were smooth.

He was still polishing by dinner time, Kuniharu and Ayana had to help him finish. By then, Ayana wasn't sure it was punishment any more. After being told the tortoise's involvement, Kuniharu declared that the tortoise should be punished too as the original culprit. He tied a rag around the tortoise and made it help with the task as it followed Kunimitsu around. Then, he tied rags to Kunimitsu's hands and knees and pushed him around the long verandah, eliciting much squeals and laughter. Finally, the tortoise was fed lettuce and polished till its shell shone. After dinner, it was taken door to door until the owner was found. Then, it was duly petted and farewelled by Kunimitsu before it was very reluctantly handed over.

Ayana gave warm milk to Kunimitsu and started making breakfast. Kunimitsu drank his milk quietly. Then, after a few more minutes, he asked, if he had been a good boy, could he wake Papa up so they can go tennis.

Ayana tried to explain to him that tennis class was only six months and Kunimitsu's lessons was finished for the year. She looked worriedly at him. Kunimitsu's silences had different tones to them. He can be silent and happily preoccupied or thinking furiously. But now, he looked perplexed and frustrated.

"No more tennis?" he asked very solemnly.

Ayana shook her head. "What's the matter? Missed your tennis friends?"

Kunimitsu shook his head. "Not enough." When Ayana gave him a questioning look, he blurted, "Kunimitsu not enough. Can't play like Yanagi-san and Hokage-senpai. Have to practice backhand and drop shot and serve and forehand to corner and ... and ... " He ran back to his room to fetch a whole list of tennis things to show her.

Ayana suppressed a smile and said, "You can practice next year, ok? It's too cold to play tennis now. So next Spring, when it's nice and warm, you can go tennis again."

"Next year? Is it a long time?"

"Kunimitsu is such a patient boy. Surely Kunimitsu can wait till Spring. It is only till the sakura trees starts blooming."

Kunimitsu looked out to Ojiisan's sakura bonsai. Not a flower bud in sight. He sighed dejectedly. Even if Mama said he was a patient boy, it still felt like a long time to wait.

On November 15, which fell on a Sunday, Mama told Kunimitsu that they would go on a special family trip to Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture. After Mama had fed and bathed him, she started dressing him in special clothes. They looked like Ojiisan's kimono, but in small Kunimitsu size. Mama said it was a special day for Kunimitsu because it was the first time he was allowed to wear full traditional _kimono_, _haori _and _hakama_.

Kunimitsu asked if he was growing up properly so he can wear special clothes like Ojiisan. Mama kissed his little nose and told him he was growing up beautifully. Kunimitsu nodded solemnly as he held his arms out for Mama.

First she draped a white cotton _juban _on him, then a light blue _kimono _with little crane patterns. Then she secured the kimono with a narrow _obi _belt. Next, she put on the _hakama _pants, turning him one way, then the other as she tied the strings and tucked in the inner robes neatly. Kunimitsu's _hakama _was of thin vertical stripes of white and dark blue. Then Mama made him sit on the bed and wear the _tabi _socks himself.

Next, she showed him a small pouch with some coins in it for him to spend. The pouch was dark blue with Kunimitsu's name embroidered at the bottom in white. At the top, it was attached with a cord to a wood _netsuke _carved into the shape of tennis racquet. Mama attached the pouch to Kunimitsu's _hakama _straps and told him to take good care of his pouch.

Then she brought out his _haori_. It was a shimmering brown hip length kimono with a large light blue and copper marked ochiba koi depicted on the back. She draped it over him and carefully arranged his long trailing sleeves. Next, she combed and slicked down his feathery hair. Followed by putting a pair of _zori _sandals on his feet. Finally, she turned Kunimitsu around to check and admire her work. As usual, a few stubborn strands of hair had sprang up despite her comb. At last, she declared Kunimitsu was all done and passed him to Ojiisan so she could get herself dressed.

Kunimitsu spent most of the journey being busy. Papa and Ojiisan took the front seats while he sat with Mama at the back. He peered out to watch the sunrise, stared at the workers loading and unloading their wares and whatever that caught his interest, like the changing clouds or brightly coloured autumn leaves. When he got bored, he read books together with Mama.

At last, they reached the special shrine that Ojiisan said had seen many generations of Tezuka children. It was packed with many families in their best kimono. Little girls in red and pink kimono with flowers in their hair. Little boys dressed like Kunimitsu or in western-style suits. They made their way into the interior where Kunimitsu received blessings from the priest. Then, they made their way to another section where they prayed and give thanks.

Kunimitsu did not know what he should thank for and to whom. Normally, he always said thank you immediately. But sometimes he forgot and Mama had to remind him. But Mama wasn't always with him, so maybe this was for the times when he forgot to say thank you properly. Mama told Kunimitsu to thank _kami-sama _for his good health and growing up well. She prayed that Kunimitsu would grow up strong and healthy and smart.

Kunimitsu thought he should say thank you for all his Tanabata wishes, though he still hadn't beaten Yoshida-san yet. But maybe he forgot to mention that he wished to beat Yoshida-san at shogi and _kami-sama _didn't understand his wish, so it was okay if he still hadn't got his wish. He would try to be more specific next time.

As for his other wishes, he had taken part in Tennis Tournament and learned much about tennis there. He had even taken his judo grading exam and had passed with flying colours. And he enjoyed unagi very much, even the delicious unagi-nigiri and unagi-maki that he forgot to wish for. But it was okay if he did not have unagi every day, now that Summer was over, because Mama said he should not be greedy and let other children have unagi too.

While he didn't feel like he was getting any taller, Mama showed him on the pillar where she had marked his height and his age on his birthday in October. He had grow taller too, even though it was just a little bit. Hokage-senpai had even stopped calling him _Shorty_ and preferred _Mittsu _now. Kunimitsu did not think it was better than _Shorty_, but since he got his wish, he had to say thank you properly too. Finally, he said he would try to think of better wishes and could Tanabata please come earlier because Mama said it is next Summer and Kunimitsu thought that was a long long time for a little boy like him to wait.

Then the family walked around the shrine grounds. Papa took many pictures of them, especially of Kunimitsu. Ojiisan bought a _chitose-ame_ candy for Kunimitsu. It was a big long stick with red and white wrapping. Kunimitsu could not finish it by himself. He broke it into small pieces and gave a piece to Papa, Mama and Ojiisan. And to a little girl that dropped hers on the ground too.

Sometimes, Ojiisan or Papa would stop to talk to their old friends. One time, both Papa and Ojiisan knew the family. Ojiisan talked to Sanada-ojiisan and Papa talked to Sanada-papa. Kunimitsu and Sanada-otouto just stared at each other, and refused to talk. But that started because Sanada-oniisan put his hand on both their heads and said both Kunimitsu and Genichirou were exactly the same height. Kunimitsu thought he was a little bit taller than the other boy. His hair was springier and gave him 2cm more height. But Mama looked like she didn't want Kunimitsu to start a fight, so he wisely kept quiet and just gave the oniisan a disgruntled look. Even though the oniisan looked old enough to be ojisan.

He spent the coins in his pouch on a little rainbow-coloured windmill and a wooden top. He picked up a pine cone for free from the ground. Papa was very good at making the windmill turn. Kunimitsu tried blowing at it like Papa till he was blue, but it did not turn as fast or as long as Papa. Finally, he just pushed it with his fingers. It worked better than blowing.

He spent the journey home turning the blades back and forth to see which parts moved and which ones did not. He finally figured out it was made up of three pieces when he pulled the middle pin out. It didn't work without the pin so he put it back. Next, he pulled out the blades one by one and put them back into the slots. Then he pulled them out again to find out how many he could pull out, in what way and still keep the windmill working. Mama helped by rolling down the window a bit so there was a small gap for the wind to blow in. Then Kunimitsu didn't have to blow till he was dizzy. But it only worked if the car was moving. When Papa slowed the car, Kunimitsu would protest loudly and demand Papa to go faster.

When Kunimitsu grew tired of the windmill, he turned to other things. He put the candy wrapper into the wind and made it flap and dance madly. When he let go, it flew a bit and dropped to his lap. He tried folding it into origami aeroplane like art class but it didn't fly properly.

Finally, Mama tore off a piece of paper from his drawing book, scrunched it into a ball and dropped it into the wind. It flew all the way to the other window and dropped under Mama's legs. Kunimitsu dived for it. Then he insisted Mama changed seats with him so she could drop more balls for him to catch. This occupied him for quite a bit, giggling and hopping around trying to catch paper balls. That was, until Kunimitsu slipped, banged into the front seat and the ball landed on Papa's head.

After Ojiisan scolded him, Kunimitsu sulked quietly even though he knew he broke a car rule. He was not to disturb Papa when he was driving because it could make Papa careless and cause accident which would make ouchies for everyone. He curled into Mama's lap, because Mama always for forgive him first. Clutching handfuls of her soft warm silk, he drifted off to sleep thinking his Mama was the nicest and smartest Mama in the world.

-  
**Note:**  
Gyaa! So many loose ends to tie up and many more to deal with in later years. Anyway, here ends the 5-year-old Tezuka (as he thinks of himself) saga for that year. Don't worry, he is still technically 5 till October the following year. Still, at this rate, it's going to take 50+ chapters to reach age 12! *faints*

**Netsuke **Men wears an _inro_ (pouch or box) supported by a _netsuke_ passed through the ties of his _hakama_. Traditionally, this is because men's kimono does not have pockets. _**Tabi**_is Japanese socks that are ankle-high, with divided-toe. Usually worn with _zori_ . _**Zori**_ is traditional slippers worn by both men and women. Their formality ranges from strictly informal to fully formal.

**Kimono **for different demographics are varied according to colours and elaboration. Young single female wears longer sleeves and brighter colours. Married women wear dark background colours. Adult male kimono tends to be matte, very plain and in dark (black, blue, grey, brown) or pastel colours. They are either plain single-coloured, or have two-colours with geometric patterns. Young boys' kimono can be more colourful. Ladies' obi is also wider and tied in more elaborate pattern. Men's obi is narrower and tied with neat knot and tucks.

**Koi (Carp) **is symbol of perseverance, faithfulness and general good fortune. Often depicted in jumping upward with sprays of water. Images of carp are often found on young boys' kimono.

**Ochiba Koi** is a light blue/gray koi with copper, bronze, or yellow (Kohaku style) pattern, reminiscent of autumn leaves on water. The Japanese name means "fallen leaves."

**Shichi-Go-San Festival** is a special event is a child's life. Literally means "Seven-Five-Three". On November 15 (or the nearest weekend), parents take their 5-year old sons or 3/7-year-old daughters to the local shrine to thank the kami for protecting their children and keeping them healthy and growing. The children, especially girls, are dressed formally in kimono. Some boys are dressed in formal western-style suits. It is also a rites of passage where young boys celebrates wearing his first hakama in public.

**Ojisan **is used to address 'uncle' or a male adult. **Ojiisan **is 'grandfather' or elderly man.

**Chitose-ame ("thousand years" candy)** is a foot-long cylindrical stick sweet, covered with edible rice paper. Comes in a bag illustrated with cranes and turtles (longevity). Normally has red and white outer wrappings. Parents buy these for children after Shichi-Go-San shrine visit to wish their children long and prosperous lives.


	16. Happy New Year

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 17: New Year**

Winter brought a new set of clothes, shoes and time. It was too cold for daily morning routines with Ojiisan on the verandah. One of the many changes brought by the turn of seasons. The koi had disappeared into the depths of the pond and refused to come up for food. Ojiisan said Kunimitsu he could stop feeding the fish till Spring. But Kunimitsu couldn't stop going to the garden to see if the koi wanted to come up and play.

On December 31, Kuniharu drove the family to a traditional inn called a ryokan. They spent the day enjoying the beautiful gardens, strolling around the lake and dipping in the hotspring. It was also a rare treat for Kunimitsu. Since he was four and given his own room, he had not been allowed to sleep with his Mama and Papa, except on special rare occasions. Even though Mama tried to put him to sleep at eight, he kept awake for hours playing and wrestling with Papa on the futon.

Finally, Kuniharu resorted to several rounds of spar grappling to tire him out. Kunimitsu was quite indignant when he found his Papa, who had never practised any Judo, was better at _osaekomi-waza_ than him. Once his Papa caught and pinned his arms and legs, he can't escape no matter how he wriggled and twisted. Both Kuniharu and Ayana sighed with relief when he was finally so worn out, he fell asleep in the middle of a pin.

In the middle of the night, Kuniharu woke them all up. Ayana dressed a sleepy Kunimitsu with layers after layers till he was like a round squishy cotton ball. Then the whole family left their nice warm room to climb up the mountain. Kuniharu carried Kunimitsu, who was still sleepy. Ayana carried bento and Kunikazu carried the picnic mat. Kuniharu checked his GPS a few times before he was satisfied that it was the exact place he had scouted three weeks ago.

It was only 5 am when they arrived. Kuniharu was pleased they were the first in the area and found his chosen spot. He had buffered an hour longer for the trek than he would have taken on his own. Since Kunimitsu had slept through the whole climb, they had not needed to slow down to his walking pace and take many breaks in between. They had arrived much earlier than expected. Kunikazu laid out the mat. Ayana served hot tea from a thermos. Kuniharu laid the sleeping Kunimitsu down on Ayana's lap then went to set up his camera and tripod. Within the next hour, a few couples had arrived to stake out their places. They chatted, shared delicacies from their packs and wished each other 'Happy New Year'.

At 6 am, Kunimitsu woke up like clockwork. The sky was lightening with pre-dawn glow. The air was crisp and dry. There was fresh snow from the night before. To the east, the morning mist began clearing away. There were more people around them, including several children. But Kunimitsu stuck to Ayana's side watching the scene unfold till she pushed him on his feet and told him to play with the other children.

He took one look at the strangers running and screaming and stubbornly shook his head. Then he picked a pile of snow drift and proceeded to make a snow castle. He poked bits of twigs into the ice and placed pebbles and build snow walls. His thick gloves made him clumsy till he figured out his Papa's hiking stick and a spare plastic spoon from Mama's bento made things much easier. Before long, the other children joined him, extending it to a snow city with little snow people dressed in green plastic bento dividers and plastic bottle caps hats with black nori hair.

As the sun began to rise, a hush fell over the festivities. They watched the sun slowly poke its head over Mount Fuji, casting a brilliant diamond glow over its snowy slopes. Kuniharu had specially picked a relatively unknown mountain side that would give them a perfectly clear view of Mount Fuji with the sun's path passing directly over the peak. Pink and orange blush stained the clouds over head and the snow laden trees on the lower slopes. Warm golden sunlight washed over the silent observers.

After some time, the second round of festivities started. There were pictures to be taken and the adults went around passing envelopes of money to the children. Kunimitsu dutifully stood his ground when approached by adults, wished them 'Happy New Year', accepted the _otoshidama_ and thanked them politely. He was not going to be one of those kids that ran and hide behind their Mama. Even when he had to endure a few seconds of being patted on the head and squeals of "Cute!" and "Adorable!" from the women. Then he gave his stack to Mama like he saw other children did and promptly forgot about them.

Going down the mountain took longer than going up with Kunimitsu running up and down on his short little legs and stopping to look at a curious root or rock formation and gnarled old trees. When they reached their rooms, they changed into kimono. Then Kuniharu drove them to a local shrine for the first visit and blessings of the year.

_Hatsuhinode_. The first sunrise of the year. Little did Kunimitsu know that this was the beginning of a family tradition that was repeated every year throughout his childhood. But he always remembered, this was the day he could one more year to his age.

Note:  
Osaekomi-waza = Judo pins or mat holds techniques


	17. Setsubun and Sakura

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 17: Setsubun and Sakura**

One evening, in early February, Kunimitsu found Mama pouring a big bowl of freshly roasted soya beans into a wooden box. Naturally, it was the fragrant nutty smell that attracted a curious Kunimitsu into the kitchen.

He followed Mama from the kitchen to the altar in the living room. He watched curiously as Mama prayed at the altar. Then when she was done, she stood up and turned to Kunimitsu. She took a handful of beans from her box. Kunimitsu held out his hand so Mama can give him some. But Mama shook her head. With a mischievous smile, she said, "_Fuku wa uchi_!" and threw the beans over his head.

He stood open-mouthed in shock as the beans rained down on him. Then indignantly said, "Mama bad! Cannot throw food."

Mama laughed and hugged him. "Today is special day. We have a special rule." Then she filled two small bowls with beans. "Not for eating," she said as she led him to the garden. She gave one bowl to Ojiisan and one to Kunimitsu. "Can you find the Oni?"

Kunimitsu shook his head. "Oni are just stories."

"Ah, but I see an Oni in our garden."

Kunimitsu cocked his head. It was just Papa with a mask over his face. "Is not Oni. He is Papa!"

"Grrraawwwll!" said Papa. "Rrraaaooowww!"

"Let's turn Oni back to Papa." She took a handful of beans and threw them at Papa. "_Oni wa soto_! Demon out!"

Kunimitsu thought that looked like fun and really naughty. Really really naughty because it was bad to throw food and waste food. But if Mama said it was special rule day ... Kunimitsu did not know how Mama knew it was special rule day. Sometimes, he thought adults make up special rule days so they can break everyday rules. But if Mama said it was special rule day ... and he got to break a few rules for fun, he was more than happy to comply.

He ran towards Papa and threw a handful at him. But Papa dodged and ran away. So Kunimitsu had to chase him all over. They threw beans at each other, running and laughing. Mama threw beans over all of them and even scattered them in the house.

Finally, Kunimitsu ran out of beans and resorted to chasing Papa. He grabbed one of Papa's legs. Then Papa was down on the ground and Kunimitsu sat on him so he can't run away.

Ojiisan walked over to them and emptied his bowl of beans over both of them.

Kunimitsu thought Ojiisan was really smart. Or just cheating. He waited till both Kunimitsu and Papa were tired and down on the ground to attack them. Then he remembered something. He pulled the mask on Papa's head.

"Ow!" said Papa. The elastic snapped over his ear.

"Ha!" shouted Kunimitsu triumphantly. "Not Oni! Papa! Not Oni! Papa! Papa!"

"Yes, it's Papa!" laughed Papa. "Clever Kunimitsu!" He swung Kunimitsu's arms over his neck and got up from the ground. Kunimitsu instinctively wrapped his legs around Papa's hips and rode piggy-back back into the house.

They had a special dinner. As a reward, Mama counted 6 beans from her box for Kunimitsu to eat.

As the days started to grow longer and warmer, the koi finally come out of their winter hibernation at the bottom of the pond. Kunimitsu had missed them during the cold months. They in turn remembered him and swam up to him eagerly. They had been slowly trained by Ojiisan to be hand fed by Kunimitsu last year. As soon as he put his hand into the water, they nuzzled him hungrily and rubbed their slick bodies against him. Even though they looked hungry, Ojiisan forbade Kunimitsu from feeding them in the early spring. Kunimitsu kept the koi occupied while Ojiisan waded into the water and carefully checked each fish to ensure they had survived winter safely and well.

The pond bottom was sloping but deep, six feet at its deepest. Kunimitsu had been taught never to jump into the pond. Only his Ojiisan and Papa were allowed in the water. But there was a rough flat stone at the side that Papa had dubbed Kunimitsu's stone. It was placed low enough on the bank so Kunimitsu could sit there and dip four-year-old his toes in. Now that he had longer limbs, he could lie flat on the stone seat and put his hands in the water. Finally, in mid-March, when the days were warm enough, Ojiisan allowed Kunimitsu to start feeding the koi again.

It was early morning on the first day of new school year in the first week of April. Kunimitsu had advanced to next grade in his kindergarten. Mama was preparing his bento for the day while Kunimitsu was out in the garden.

"Mama! Mama!" Kunimitsu called from outside.

Mama came out to find Kunimitsu had squeezed himself between shelves of bonsai pots. He peering intently at a thin sweeping branch of one of the plants.

"Mama look!" He pointed at a knotted branch tip. "Flowers!"

Mama bent down to take a closer look. Indeed, there were tiny buds showing. "Yes, it is budding. In a few days, we will have flowers. Now come out from there."

Kunimitsu dropped to his hands and knees and crawled and wiggled out between the shelf legs. Mama checked his clothes and brushed off bits leaves from his hands.

"Mama, that is sakura?"

"Yes. That is sakura tree."

"When it opens, Kunimitsu can go again?"

"Go where? Kunimitsu wants to go picnic under the sakura trees?"

"No! Mama promised." At Mama's puzzled look, Kunimitsu hung his head. "Mama forgot," he said accusingly.

"What did Mama promised?"

"Tennis!"

"Ah! Tennis. Yes, yes. We will remind Papa to go tennis, okay?" He brightened up and nodded eagerly. "Now, it's time to go to school."

That night, Ayana reminded her husband to register Kunimitsu for this year's lessons. And to find some classes for himself so he could play with Kunimitsu properly.

Kuniharu shook his head stubbornly and said it would be cheaper and better if they forget about tennis and let him teach the boy golf. He did not say tennis is for sissies. He wasn't that suicidal.

Ayana gazed lovingly at him and asked very sweetly if he forgot to tell her he'd just gotten a big raise? After all, if he wanted Kunimitsu to start golf, surely he had planned to support Kunimitsu's golf for the next 15 years. Not to mention financing such things as club memberships fees, tournaments, 3 sets of golf clubs that he would outgrew, and all the expensive trappings that went with the sport.

He did a quick mental calculation and gulped. A kid's tennis racquet was only half the price of a kid's iron. And there were 14 clubs in a golf set, he thought in horror! He laughed nervously and promised to call the tennis coach in the morning.

Ayana patted his hand. "Take your time," she said soothingly. "Even if Kunimitsu is too late and the class is full, it will be all right. You all ready have a backup plan. I'm sure Kunimitsu would be happy to spend more time with his father playing golf."

Kuniharu swore he would get Kunimitsu into his tennis class, even if he had to pay off some parent to switch to another class. While he was at it, he had to figure out some way to make his wife forget about him playing tennis with Kunimitsu. Personally, he'd rather hit a stationary ball than a moving target.

Next Saturday, when the sakura were in full bloom, Kunimitsu climbed into his parents' bed to wake them up for tennis. Although he didn't say it, he was happy to meet up with Akira and Seito and all his old tennis friends again.

* * *

I'm posting this ahead since I shall be busy/away for a while. Have caught up with the fully written parts 'chronologically', so next few chapters will be slower. I mean chronologically, coz I had some parts written ahead and slotted for 10-year-old.

2011 is the year of the Rabbit, starting from 3 Feb 2011 (Chinese New Year). Since Setsubun also falls on 3 Feb, I just had to do a chapter on it. According to some fan's calculations (based on the time the manga was published and Fuji's leap year birthday), Tezuka was born in 1987. Surprise, surprise! 1987 was also a Rabbit year, the Fire Rabbit. However, at 6 years old, this story year is not Rabbit, but Rooster. This turned out to be Ayana's Zodiac year (36), hence her role as '_toshi-onna_' woman of the year.

I've been reading some stereotyping of Japanese fathers being distant and non-participative in child rearing. Especially when their wives do not work, like Ayana. That is a stereotype and gross generalisation. Looking at Tezuka's hobbies (outside Tennis), I don't think his father is non-participative, especially when they share activities like mountain climbing and camping.

This story contains a lot of gender role stereotyping in Tezuka family, especially his parents. So much so, I want to kick myself for propagating gender role stereotypes in fiction. But Tezuka is supposed to have a modern traditional family (not traditional-traditional like Sanada). Anyway, I hope, while Ayana is a traditional housewife and main caregiver, she does not come across as a submissive live-in maid for the men in the household. It is probable she controls the finances and made everyday decisions in their home.

**Notes:**  
* **Age**: Tezuka Kunimitsu=6, Kunikazu=63, Kuniharu=39, Ayana=36.  
_**  
* FIRE Rabbit 1987**_ - Fire adds an unspoken magnetism and mystery to the Rabbit. They are active and adventurous, can throw tantrums if provoked, work hard to avoid conflict or unpleasant confrontations. Fire Rabbits are charming and tend to push their emotions into the backs of their minds, but will speak up if necessary.

* **Setsubun **is between Winter and Spring. One of the customs is to throw beans shouting "Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi" or "Demons (bad luck) out, Happiness(Fortune) in."

* Cherry trees (**sakura**) open their first blossoms around 20 Mar - 31 Mar in Tokyo. Full bloom 1 week after. Last for around 2 weeks.

* **Koi **recognise the person feeding them and can be trained to be hand fed. At below 10 °C, their digestive system slows down and food can go rancid in their stomachs. They ate very little until the temperature climbs above 10 °C again. Tokyo average temperature - Nov: 10-17°C, Dec: 4-12°C, Jan/Feb: 2-10°C, Mar: 5-14°C, Apr: 11-18°C. Kunikazu is not starving the poor fish from Dec to Mar. Kunikazu is also not raising show koi, so they don't have an indoor winter pool for the fish.

* Past few chapters has Piaget's First Stage of Cognitive Development, Pre-operation - Intuitive sub-stage (age 4 -7). Use of primitive reasoning, curious to know the Why, How and What. Development of Motor Skills to control and regulate - strength, precision, combination of movements and posture. Some Magical Thinking in Tanabata. But not too much. Tezuka is one of those kids that looks at Santa as man in funny clothes.

* Tezuka expected to be given **food from the altar** (kamidana) stems from learned experience. Food, normally fruits, is used as offering. These are considered blessed and are consumed by the family. From all those practices, Tezuka family is somewhat leaning towards Shintoism. Though in Japan and many East Asian countries, the practice of subscribing to several different religious practices (non-monotheistic) are quite common. Eg. Yearly visit to Shinto temples for birth, rites of passage (7-5-3, wedding), wish-prayers, and Shinto festivals, visit Buddhist temples for Buddhist festivals, and having Buddhist funeral.


	18. Trip with Papa

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 18: Trip with Papa  
**  
"Haru-chan," Ayana called sweetly. "Have you learned how to play tennis yet?"

"Urk!" said Kuniharu.

"Golden Week is coming. Please spend some time with Kunimitsu."

"Yes, dear. I'll have something planned."

Kuniharu went to check his calendar. "_This is bad_," he thought. He had all ready planned a mountain climbing trip with two friends. Cancel or have Ayana breathe her dragon breath at him, he pondered. Golden Week was only two weeks away. All the hotels and public transports were fully booked. Even his planned trip was booked six months back, which was why he had forgotten about it.

He called up his first climbing buddy. It rang 3 times, followed by the sound of two loud teenage boys at full scale verbal warfare. There was a muffled 'Sorry' followed by an even louder roar that sent the two kids scurrying out of the room.

"Hello, Tezuka! Ah ... sorry about that."

"About Golden Week ..."

"Ah, yes! You must have heard. I'm sorry about that. Wife wants to take the family to Okinawa to visit her parents. Harada is still looking for a replacement. Really sorry about that."

"Aa."

He tapped his phone thoughtfully. There was an opening. Harada would not be too happy if he cancelled. They could still go with two person. But with only one, it would not be safe... Not with the kind of terrain they were planning to tackle. On the other hand, there was a easier route that would kill two birds with one stone. Gleefully, he called Harada up.

"Harada, do you mind if we changed to the Class 3 route?"

That evening, Kuniharu took little Kunimitsu out with him, giving some cryptic excuse to his wife. It was his favourite speciality shop. Finally, he could buy the cute miniature sized equipment. Little water bottles, cute quality boots, safety harness and pulleys, light weight ropes, clothes, sleeping bag with woolly sheep jumping over a fence, gloves with teddy bears on it, walking stick, neon yellow backpack with little white bunnies hopping across the front ... He added a mini LED torchlight and let Kunimitsu pick his own silver whistle. Ah, his little Kunimitsu looked like a little picture book Swiss boy, all fully decked out for an adventure. He hugged his little munchkin and made Kunimitsu promised not to tell Mama where they had been.

When they got home, Ayana asked where they had been. Kunimitsu gave her a thoughtful look, then replied he promised not to tell. Kuniharu gave his wife a mischievous grin.

Ayana changed tack and asked Kunimitsu, "What did you buy?"

Kunimitsu happily pulled out his new gear Kuniharu had carefully hidden in the car boot under three layers of tarp to show his Mama. Kunimitsu, Kuniharu thought, was hopelessly incapable of subterfuge.

That night, he had to spend three hours reassuring his wife.

"It's too dangerous," she said.

"It's perfectly safe," he countered. "I've been doing it for years."

"It's different. You're an old man. Kunimitsu is only five and a half."

"It's only an easy climb. A baby can do it."

"What if he got sick?"

"He is not sick."

"He could be. He will out all day, in the rain, in the sun, he could get cold."

"Harada is a surgeon. He can take care of any emergencies."

"He could get bitten."

"He won't die from a mosquito."

"He could fall down and hurt himself."

"He will pick himself up. It's too tame to kill him."

"What if he broke his leg?"

"Did I mention Harada is a doctor?"

"But I don't want him to break his leg."

"He won't, because he won't fall down."

On and on till Kuniharu had promised the sky, mountain, moon and sea to take every conceivable and inconceivable precautions to make sure their little boy would come home without a single scratch, without so much as a sniffle. It wasn't the most rational conversation he ever had in his married life, but he managed to persuade Ayana to let him take Kunimitsu with him.

When the day arrived, Ayana gave Kuniharu another round of lecture about the care and feeding of their only child. Honestly, she trusted her father-in-law's ability to handle Kunimitsu in all his moods than her flaky husband. At least, after some training, he could dress Kunimitsu without getting the head or arm into the wrong holes, prepare his milk with the correct consistency and temperature, and made sure the boy eat properly balanced meal without too much mess and fuss. Good thing Kunimitsu was not a fussy eater.

Then she hugged Kunimitsu and told him to be on best behaviour and to listen to Papa and be extra careful and not let Papa do silly things. Also to remind Papa if he was hungry, or cold, or hot, or tired, or sleepy, or not feeling well.

As she waved them goodbye, she thought the Tezuka men never do anything by halves. No, a few hours of simple tennis game was not good enough for a father-son bonding. It had to be a four-day trekking, climbing, camping trip up an obscure mountain just so he could plant a koi pole on the summit exactly on midnight for Children's Day. She sighed as she went back inside. The house felt emptier without her two beloved men.

"I thought you were going to bail out on me for some family thing too. You married men always forget your bachelor friends," Harada said when Kuniharu picked him up.

"Then get married to some decent girl all ready. You won't need to feel ashamed of staying home all alone with nothing to do on holidays."

"Mou, I like being single. Besides, I'm a senior surgeon all ready. For once, I would like to enjoy long holidays without the guilt trip and without being on call while all the family men and women party away at home."

"Ha! It's just excuses because no girls can stand you."

"That's not true. Ne, Kunimitsu-kun?" Harada turned to the little boy sitting on the passenger seat. "Do you have a girlfriend, Kunimitsu-kun?"

"He's only five," Kuniharu protested.

"Yes," said Kunimitsu.

Both men stared at him in shock. "You have a girlfriend?"

"Kunimitsu have many girl friends." Kunimitsu looked curiously at Harada-san. What a strange man his Papa's friend was.

"Wah!" cried Harada. "How many? What are their names?"

Kunimitsu ticked each name off his fingers. "Mika-chan. Yanagi-san. Yuki-san. Ayu-chan. Chihiro-chan. Rin-chan. Harumi-chan. ..." He had many girl friends, especially in his kindergarten class. He had many boy friends too. What a strange ojisan to only ask him about girls.

Kuniharu laughed. "That's my boy."

"What a lady killer you have there, Tezuka!" Harada pouted in the back seat. "Like father, like son."

When they arrived at their destination, Kuniharu began pulling out their packs from the boot. Harada took one look at the enormous pile and laughed out loud.

"Tezuka, when you said you were going to bring your kid, I didn't know you were going to bring your house and your kitchen sink along!"

"Shut up and help me repack," grumbled Kuniharu. He dumped half the things Ayana added to his packing list. Only half, because the other half were things he forgot he would need when he was taking a young child with him into the wilderness.

He pulled out a three tier lacquer bento box and gave the top tier to Kunimitsu. "Eat."

Kunimitsu obediently ate the luxurious bento his Mama made. He was really hungry, breakfast being 6 hours ago. His Mama's onigiri and tamagoyaki were the best. There were carrots and cucumbers cut into little stars. Hard boiled egg shaped into duck. Grapes and apples arranged in alternating pattern.

Kuniharu passed the second tier to Harada and took the last tier for himself. "Better carry in your stomach than cart it up and down the mountain," he said gruffly.

Harada took one look and fell over in ecstasy. "This is amazing. How come your wife never make bento for all our previous trips?"

"My wife loves my son better. Now you're reaping the benefits."

Harada laughed. "Ah! I don't mind having Kunimitsu-kun along on all our trips." He took another bite. "Hmm ... I would reconsider giving up my bachelorhood for a bento like this."

"Find your own bento cook. This one's taken!" Kuniharu said possessively.

Ayana was one devious woman who can wrap any man around her finger with a well executed bento. He bet, if anything happened to Kunimitsu, the boy would have the best medical care within a 1000-mile radius. After a huge incentive like that, Harada would go out of his way to make sure it was a happy, successful trip for Kunimitsu. He ought to know better. After all, she made him court her for five long years before she agreed to marry him.

* * *

Kuniharu is one crazy dad that take his kid jungle-trekking/mountaineering/camping when he still a baby.

**Dear readers**, I have only one milestone to cover for 6 year old period, Tezuka's intro to mountain climbing and camping. So, I'm opening up request for a 6-yo event/prompt/thing/problem/theory, something you want Tezuka to encounter. Can be anything, from apples to zoo.

**Reviews response:**  
sokkergurl : Hehe ... Can't have Tezuka going into golf. Otherwise, his over-achieverness will turn him into the star of Prince of Golf, with anime-Yagyuu as co-star! Tezuka-zone will be his ultimate hole in one, where every ball will gravitate to one spot on the green. Zero-shiki Putt has so much backspin, it will jump over the hole, the reverse back to drop neatly into the hole.

Aoe chan : Thank you. Please use the review then. I just have a personal conflict. Don't want to artificially inflate the number of reviews or the word count. Maybe putting it in chapter is better.

**Notes:**

**Class 3** - Moderate exposure; simple climbing or scrambling with frequent use of hands. May need ropes.

**Golden Week** is 4 holidays within 7 days: Showa Day (April 29), Constitution Day (May 3), Greenery Day (May 4), Children's Day (May 5).

**Children's Day** aka Boy's Festival. Family put up koi flags or streamers symbolizing strength and success in life.


	19. Tezuka children

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 19: Tezuka children**

After their early lunch in the car at a free parking lot, they prepared to leave. Kuniharu left a note on the dashboard where it would be plainly visible through the windscreen with the dates and routes they planned to take. Harada made a final check on their equipment. Testing their walkie-talkies, checking their supplies and gear were in order. Then they went to one of the huts at the start of the trail to check in and log their intended itinerary. One last toilet break and they were off.

The chosen trail started with paved road, ascending gently by hugging the mountain side. In the beginning, the men, too used to long strides over the easy track, set a quick pace. Kunimitsu, on his shorter legs, had difficulty keeping up. After stopping every few minutes to let him catch up, Kuniharu put him in front and let him set the pace.

With slower pace, and Kunimitsu pointing up new and interesting things out to them, Kuniharu realised he had been taking the lower slopes for granted, not noticing the abundance plant and animal life. Spring time brought the forests to life with colourful flowers and lively bird songs. Harada shared his knowledge in botany with edible and medicinal plants they encountered en-route.

An hour later, they came to a shrine. Kuniharu bought an _omamori_ protection charm for Kunimitsu, tucking the packet into his pocket. After a quick prayer and water break, they left the main paved road for unpaved animal trail. Harada took point, navigating with map and compass. Kunimitsu was set in the middle. Kuniharu took up the rear, where he could easily keep an eye on Kunimitsu, giving him a boost for the steeper climb. Occasionally, he would mark their position on the GPS.

As they approached one of the roughest sections, Harada asked if Kunimitsu should be carried over the boulders. Kunimitsu shook his head, determined to walk the entire way all by himself. Some times, the height was too much for him to clamber over. Harada would extend his hiking stick out for Kunimitsu to grab and hoist himself up. As Kunimitsu passed each challenge, Harada noticed his old friend looking with unmistakable pride at the little boy.

As they travelled, Kuniharu and Harada kept up a light banter. But Kunimitsu was mostly silent, unless addressed directly. His entire focus was now concentrated on the task ahead. Harada shook his head in amusement. While the track was easy for experienced climbers like Kuniharu, it was really hard for a young first timer.

It was just like what the teenager Kuniharu would have done. Jump into the deep-end feet first. Or in this case, threw his young son in and watch him swim. And just like his old man, when faced with a real challenge, Kunimitsu became silent and completely focused to the exclusion of all else. No more sight-seeing and poking at mushrooms. His entire energy was concentrated on taking the next step, crawling under an overhang or clambering over a large rock.

Harada looked over Kunimitsu's head to watch Kuniharu give the boy some instructions on where to place his hiking stick and feet. He tested Kunimitsu's grip on a tree root and showed him how prevent himself from slipping on the mossy stone. Then how to shift his weight and centre of gravity. Kunimitsu gave a little grunt and popped over the top of the stone.

"Like judo!" Kunimitsu exclaimed happily.

Harada smiled in admiration. After three hours of hiking, he'd expected Kunimitsu to be completely worn out or even started whining a little. So far, the boy had kept up quite well. He had better stamina that Harada had expected from kids his age. And he had not heard a single word of complaint yet. He smiled and nodded his head in approval. Kuniharu winked and gave him a thumbs up behind Kunimitsu's back.

He remembered the first time he met Kuniharu, back in their Senior High. Kuniharu suddenly appeared in middle of school year, long past club recruitment period, waving a registration form.

The Mountain Climbing Club teacher was briefing them on the trip planned for that Summer. It was a tough Class 5 route, requiring technical rock climbing skill, good physical condition, and use of ropes and protection. The pre-requisite for being allowed on the trip was the ability to completely scale a Grade 5 12-metre climbing wall without falling. Something none of the 1st year beginners had achieved in a few short months. Kuniharu, without a clue about rock climbing or any understanding of what the teacher meant, declared he would do it. The teacher took one pointed look at his ankle and told him to come back next week.

Indeed, when Kuniharu came back the following week, the club was rife with rumours about the new member getting into fights and being suspended. Some members wanted to reject his membership. They were a small club of 7 students. If Kuniharu got them into trouble, the school would close down their club. In the end, to be fair, they decided to test him. Climb the 12-metre wall and they'll let him join.

With Harada to belay for him, he climbed the wall using every convenient hand and foot hold in place. He ignored the routes marked on the wall. He had no technique and his form was terrible. But he was completely focused and silent. He had incredible sense of balance with monstrous stamina. And he scaled the wall.

What did the Tezuka family feed their kids, he wondered. Kunimitsu was the same as his father. Good sense of balance and tireless. And when they got down to business, they really mean business. Indeed, having negotiated the huge rocks section successfully, Kunimitsu dusted off his hands and continued walking in their steady pace like he climbed boulders everyday. No excited skips or triumphant yell. It was business as usual.

Kuniharu did pick up rock climbing and managed to climb the Grade 5 route, a week before the closing date. In the process, he got two other first years to do the impossible too. One of them, being Harada himself.

Eventually, Harada managed to wiggle Kuniharu's story out from a Judo Club classmate of his. He was rather awed and speechless when he found out Kuniharu was an All National Judo Champion and a 2-dan black belt to boot. A high achiever like Kuniharu in their unpopular club of under achievers. It was awkward. He didn't know how to act with someone that great.

Kuniharu finally put an end to his awkwardness by confronting him directly and laughed it off when he admitted to being intimidated. Eventually, they became good friends and in their final year took the High Shool Sport Climbing championship title.

* * *

**Response to Reviewers:**  
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Gomen! Gomen! I've been out of the country for 1.5 weeks. The reason it's a bit slow is that I have to read up on the sport, techniques, equipment and classifications. Man, I never thought I'd get chills and vertigo just reading techniques and glossary. Lots of jargon that are just too descriptive like barn-door, zipper-effect, screamer, crater, etc. It's pretty dangerous without proper supervision and training. Even with skill, there's still a risk factor. Judo research don't scare me this way. While I might consider taking up Judo, think I'll pass on sport-climbing. I've been to camping, canoeing, expedition with jungle trekking, crossing river, climbing mountain and hiking. Somehow, none of those things make my toes curl like this. The thought of clinging to a vertical drop by my fingertips and toes while trusting my life to a piece of rope make my hair stand. Well, you'll find out next chapter when Kunimitsu tries rock-climbing for the first time.

Faoiltierna : Glad you liked Kuniharu's shopping expedition. Hehe! Hmm … love of learning and self-confidence in contradicting authority huh? I'll need to deal with this aspect a few times over the years, I think. INTJ children have these traits built in. They respect skill and knowledge, not titles. Bound to get them into some trouble. Good call!

Aoe chan : Thank you for 3 reviews in one chapter! No worries. I'm going to deal with the whole mountain climbing / camping trip, and father-son bonding in several chapters. Kunimitsu's girl friends … *grin* … are his kindergarten classmates and his tennis class buddies. Well, Ayana is his mother, so she tends to be more protective. It's a tall order but Kunimitsu has to prove his independence and maturity eventually, to justify the kind of leeway he has from his parents – like being out all night, going to another city/country all by himself while still a minor. School trip for Kunimitsu is a good call.

Glad you liked Binary Stars. It's kinda bogged down. Partly because it's a character analysis and not really plot driven. Atobe is a harder character for me to de-construct than Tezuka. Also, subconsciously, I don't want to recap the Nationals arc. Still haven't forgiven Konomi-sensei for Atobe-Echizen match yet. I am considering skipping over that entire period and just put in the ending (which has been written long ahead). Anyway, AoYTK and another fic are taking up all my writerly energy now. But I'll get back to Atobe eventually.

Amarie-chil : I feel so flattered you remembered details of my little fic. Thank you! Well, Kunimitsu is still going to be messy for a while ;). I just meant he's not too picky about what to eat, except when it comes to something green with strong smell. Hehe! Long courtship is just my evil underhanded way of poking fun at his parents. It intrigues me that Kunimitsu (assuming he is born in the 80s) is a rather late child. When he was born, Kuniharu=33, Ayana=30. Either his parents married late or delayed starting a family. Of course, in the 2000s, having the first child in 30s is becoming the norm now.

Sokkergurl : Thank you.

KyouyaOotori17 : Thanks!

**Notes:**  
* Rock-climbing **wall **can have many hand and foot holds, where each hold is labelled according to which route uses which hold. Easy ones have many close together. Difficult ones are spaced out and requires some stretch and technique to complete. That way, the same space can cater to many different level of climbers. Route difficulty are given in terms of Grade. Grade 3 (easy) to Grade 5 (very severe) to Grade 7 (extremely challenging).

* **Belayer **has one end of the rope attached to his harness. The other end is attached to the climber. Belayer pulls in the rope as the climber ascends. Climber don't use the rope to climb up. Instead, the belay is for safety, in case the climber falls.

* I was translating Fanbook 10.5 Tezuka's Bag check when I found he had an old **omamori (charm, **usually for safety, study, business, love**) **in his bag. I couldn't resist putting one here, since getting one from a mountain shrine is a 'thing' to do in Japan. No matter how crazy Tezu-papa is, he would still cover all the bases when it comes to his son's safety, even the mystical ones.

* Mountaineering **safety **– leave a note of route and estimated return with hotel, in car, campsite, etc. That way, in case of natural disaster or emergency, rescuers have clues on how to find you.

*** Japanese mountains** had little huts at the start of the walks to enter your name and time of your walk in a log book. You need to log yourself again when you come back or people are going to think you're overdue (lost/injured).


	20. Rock Climbing

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 20**

"Are you sure you want to go through with this, Tezuka?" said Harada half hour later.

They were at a fork. He was looking at a steep rocky incline, about 70 degrees gradient. It was the toughest section of their itinerary. The steep short-cut connected to an upper section of their route. "It's not too late to change your mind. The normal trail would only add an extra three hours' hike. We have plenty of time." He looked doubtfully at Kunimitsu. Without the boy, they would have free climb the incline without ropes as part of the highlight of their trip.

Kuniharu waved off his objection. "Don't worry. We'll take a 10 minutes break. Then you go up first and set up a top-rope and pulley. I'll wait down here and send the bags up one at a time."

"What about Kunimitsu-kun?"

"He'll be fine. It's just a 10-minutes baby wall. I'll give him 30. It's a good easy start to learn top-roping. I'll put the full body harness on him and he can climb up himself. I'll be the belayer down here to monitor his progress and control his safety line. With top-rope on him, he is as safe as can be. If he gets too tired to finish the climb himself, you can haul him up by pulley like one of our packs. He is only 17 kilos. It'll be fine."

Kunimitsu pulled a face when his Papa mentioned pulling him up like baggage. Kuniharu noticed and pat him on the back. "Kunimitsu don't want to be pulled up, do you?"

Kunimitsu shook his head. He had fine sheen of sweat from their hike. But his breathing was steady and his body was properly warmed up. Kuniharu checked him for signs of chaffing and sores. Then, Kuniharu took off his shoes and socks to let him rest his feet.

"Sit here and watch how Harada-ojisan do it," he said. Then the two men got to work.

Harada climbed up and set up two rope systems. Kunimitsu sat aside and watched them quietly, Kuniharu tied the bags one at a time to the first rope for Harada to pull up to the top. When they were finished with the bags, Kuniharu strapped a full body harness on Kunimitsu. Checking and double checking the knots and buckles. Checking his climbing shoes were snug and secure. The lines were clear of tangles. Finally, he allowed Kunimitsu to attempt the climb.

"Good. You're all set." He pointed to the steep cliff in front of them. "Now, climb!"

One end of the rope was tied to Kunimitsu's harness. It went all the way to the top and came down again. The free end was threaded into Kuniharu's harness through a belay device. With the belay device, Kuniharu would gather up the slack as Kunimitsu made his way up. It kept the rope from tangling. Most importantly, it acted as protection should Kunimitsu slip or fell. Kuniharu would lock the rope so Kunimitsu would not fall too far and could be safely caught by the rope instead of crashing to the ground.

Kunimitsu took one last glance at his father, then started his climb. Kuniharu watched his son's progress carefully. He pointed out hand holds and toe holds, cracks and ledges when Kunimitsu was stumped. He did less and less of that the higher Kunimitsu got as the boy began to pick up these holds himself.

Kunimitsu was two thirds of the way up when he felt a strong wind blew through the mountain side. He clung grimly to his scant holds, keeping his body close to the rock face. Even so, he could feel his balance shift and in a split second, both hands slipped. There was nothing but air and a sickening lurch to his stomach.

It was only a second or two, but it was the longest terrifying moment in his life as he slid down the rock, scraping his hands and knees. Then, he came to an abrupt stop as the rope caught him.

Kuniharu called out anxiously to him. But Kunimitsu was too frightened to answer. He froze, dangling in the air. The ground below shifted and swam dizzily. He closed his eyes, clutching tightly to the only life-line holding him up. The wind buffeted him, riffling his hair and making him all shivery cold.

Kuniharu muttered a few choice words. Harada's voice called out worriedly from the walkie-talkie. Kuniharu had the boy locked down safely in position. But he can't do anything as long as Kunimitsu curled up unresponsively.

After a few more futile calls, Harada asked if he should just haul Kunimitsu up. Kuniharu assessed the terrain above and told him not to. Without Kunimitsu's cooperation, bracing his feet against the rocks properly, they'd banged and scraped him up against the rough surface.

"I'll abseil down and retrieve him," said Harada.

"No, stay there. I'll go up," said Kuniharu. "You might dislodge rocks on him and panic him more."

"You can't climb up and anchor him at the same time."

"Damn." He looked up again. "All right. I'm going to tie off the belay and have Kunimitsu firmly anchored to the tree. Harada, set up an anchor rope for me from up there. Hang on, Kunimitsu. Papa is coming."

A few minutes later, Harada called out "Rope!" and a slither dropped lightly off to Kuniharu's side, angled away from Kunimitsu's position. He tied off the last knot he was working, pulling with his full weight to ensure it would not slip.

"Kunimitsu! Papa's going to move the rope, so you will slide down just a little bit, okay? Slowly now. Don't worry." He carefully unclipped the rope from his harness and slowly transfer the load, all 17 kilos of Kunimitsu, to an anchor around a tree. Kunimitsu slid a foot down the slope without a whimper. One more check that the knots and tree were firmly set to hold Kunimitsu's weight. And no part of the rope will be in danger of chaffing against rock or bark. There's no way for Kunimitsu to go any further down now without untying the rope from his end. The only way left was for him to go up. And Kunimitsu will learn to go up no matter how long they had to hang around there, he thought grimly.

"Locked off belay!" he said to Harada. "Setting up ascenders."

He unpacked his rescue kit and set off to the new rope Harada had thrown down at him. First, the hand ascender was set up on the rope, with the other end tied to his harness. He checked the device to ensure it worked properly with enough friction. It had to bear his full weight. Next came the foot ascender, with the other end looped around his foot. Finally, he had two more carabiners attached to his harness. These will also need to support his full weight, since they acted as backup if his ascenders failed.

"Okay, I'm coming up," he called again, then started up the rope.

At every 10 steps, he tied a loop in the bottom of the rope and clipped it into his backup carabiners. He reached Kunimitsu's level, stopping to tie yet another backup loop. Then, he locked both ascenders and trusted his weight fully on the gear and rope. He needed to free both his hands and feet for the next part of the operation. He moved hand by hand along the rock face to Kunimitsu's position.

"Kunimitsu," he said softly.

'_Don't panic. Calm. Easy. Normal._' That was the mantra he kept repeating to himself.

'_If you get excited and panic, Kunimitsu will feel it. He may not understand, but he will get upset and push you away,' _was what Ayana reminded him over and over. _'Calm, easy, normal. Act like everything is fine and under control. He will calm down and listen.'_

_'Calm, easy, normal.' _He was thankful he decided on a full body harness. It kept Kunimitsu upright no matter what happened instead of hanging upside-down, which would have unnerved anyone. He secured his position first. Then reached out.

"Kunimitsu." He grabbed Kunimitsu's harness and pulled the boy towards him slowly till he had a ball of 5-year-old safely in his arms.

_'Calm, easy, normal.' _He told himself, even though he really wanted to scream. That and grab Kunimitsu to carry him directly to the top. He resisted the urges. He had to get Kunimitsu to complete this on his own. If he pulled Kunimitsu out now, he would erode Kunimitsu's self-confidence and very possibly set a fear of heights and climbing into his young mind. The psychological effect would stay with Kunimitsu for the rest of his life. No matter how hard he had to fight himself, he had to help Kunimitsu complete this.

Kuniharu clipped both their harnesses together, freeing his hands. "It's okay. Papa is here." He patted Kunimitsu gently. Kunimitsu responded by grabbing his shirt, legs wrapped over his hips and head buried into his chest. Kuniharu wrapped his arms around him, like he would when he carried a sleeping Kunimitsu.

It took a few minutes of soothing. Kuniharu had no idea what nonsense he said. Ayana assured him it didn't matter what he said. The important thing was the feelings he conveyed. The tone, pitch and volume of his voice had to be calm and soothing.

Finally, Kunimitsu relaxed his death grip. "Papa." Soft and relieved, full of unconditional faith that his Papa would somehow make everything all right. It was the sweetest 'Papa' Kuniharu had ever heard. Even sweeter than the first time a 2-year-old Kunimitsu called him 'Papa'.

Another strong gust buffeted them and Kunimitsu clung to him tightly with a soft whimper. He turned and adjusted their position, then jammed his free foot into a convenient crack. With his mass and foothold, he would remain steady as a rock, no matter how hard the wind blew. With his back to the wind, Kunimitsu was sheltered by his torso, giving him the illusion of security.

After the wind passed, Kunimitsu poked his head out again. Kuniharu smiled a big goofy smile at him. The one his wife dubbed as irresistibly infectious. He was rewarded with a small tentative smile. Then Kunimitsu hugged him tightly again, only it was a more natural hug instead of stiff frozen terror. It was a reassurance-seeking kind of hug, he thought, as he kissed the top of the shaggy head.

Half a minute later, Kunimitsu pulled back, looking calmer and more confident. He had gotten over his initial shock and fright, Kuniharu thought. He held the boy a little longer, till Kunimitsu started showing signs of being ready to move on.

"Are you ready?" he asked, checking the small hands. Kunimitsu's palm heels were scratched and raw, but most of his hands were protected by the gloves. "It's just a little bit more. See that ledge over there?" He pointed out a wider shelf that Kunimitsu could sit on. "Let's go over there first."

He gave Kunimitsu another reassuring hug. Then he decoupled their harnesses. Slowly, he set Kunimitsu on the rock again, until he had all four points secured. Kunimitsu gave his father one more glance, then slowly made his way to the ledge. Kuniharu followed closely on his ascenders, giving instructions and encouragement. When he had Kunimitsu secured on the ledge, he checked both their ropes to ensure they did not tangle.

"Harada, I've got him secured on a ledge. You can abseil down now and take up the belay again."

"Got it!" Harada zipped down in leaps and bounds with dizzying speed. It was a rare treat. Their trips rarely called for abseiling. "Waaahoooooo!" he yelled as he passed them.

Both Kunimitsu and Kuniharu laughed at his obvious exuberance. It was a good release of pent up tension and stress. Kuniharu was glad to see the last vestiges of fear left Kunimitsu's eyes. It was important for Kunimitsu to see Harada unafraid and enjoying sliding down the mountain with nothing but a rope. The last memory of his first rock climbing should be of fun and excitement, not a harrowing and frightening experience.

With Harada at the bottom and Kuniharu by his side, Kunimitsu finally completed his climb up.

At the top, Kuniharu gave a box of strawberry milk to Kunimitsu. Ayana generally frowned on sweetened boxed and canned drinks. But after the ordeal, Kunimitsu deserved a treat and a sugar rush. He could use one too, he thought, popping a candy into his mouth. And throwing one to Harada.

While Kunimitsu was occupied with his milk, Harada worked on patching him up. After removing his gloves, he cleaned, disinfected and bandaged up his scrapes. He also needed to tend to Kunimitsu's knee. The right trouser leg was torn through at the knee but he was only slightly bruised. Then Kuniharu changed his pants while Harada stowed away their climbing gear. A few more minutes of rest and they were on their way for the last leg of their day.

They checked into the ryokan that acted as base camp for most hikers and climbers. The place, granted it had limited rooms, was fully booked. Kuniharu was glad they had made reservations six months ahead. A quick unpacking was followed by a dip in the hot springs. Kunimitsu was the youngest in the place, but not the only child. After a few minutes of sitting with his Papa and listening to incomprehensible adult talks, he grew bored and went to play with the other children. By the time Kuniharu was ready to go for dinner, Kunimitsu was reluctant to leave the water. The boys were having a contest to see how long they could hold their breath and Kunimitsu was still in the running.

It was still early in the evening, but Kunimitsu was looking droopy at around 7pm as they sat down for dinner. He was so sleepy, nodding over his rice instead of eating that Kuniharu had to spoon feed him. When Kuniharu found him sleeping sitting up with his chin resting on the edge of the table and his rice still in his mouth, he gave up and put Kunimitsu to bed.

Harada grinned at Kuniharu. Who would have thought the class clown turned out to be a responsible and nurturing father. At 9pm, Kunimitsu woke up from a nightmare and a growling tummy. Kuniharu spent a long time holding and soothing him, which impressed Harada. After all, to put it in the nicest way, Kuniharu was not known for patience. He was known for having very short attention span, unless it was something technically complex and physically engaging.

When Kunimitsu settled down, he put the tired and hungry boy into Harada's lap to prepare Kunimitsu's milk. Kunimitsu simply stared stonily at him. Harada was just glad the boy was not the fussing crying kind. He watched Kuniharu swear softly as he scalded his fingers on hot water. Then he laughed when Kuniharu whipped out his secret weapon, a thermometer! He put the tip into the cup and checked the temperature, adding cold water bit by bit. Finally, a quick wash and dry, and the thermometer disappeared as fast as it had appeared. He had a feeling Kuniharu had many practices with that particular magic trick.

Kuniharu sat Kunimitsu back on his lap and fed him his milk. He helped Kunimitsu hold the cup, afraid the boy would drop it in his sleepiness. But Kunimitsu simply drank it all down with a long gulp. Then he grabbed onto his Papa's pyjamas and snuggled in.

"He fell asleep." Kuniharu said to Harada quietly. He held Kunimitsu in one hand and the cup in another looking lost. Kunimitsu's grip was really strong, even when asleep. He was trapped in his position.

Harada solved it for him by taking the cup away. Then Kuniharu simply gathered the boy close and carried him to Kuniharu's futon. Kunimitsu snuggled closer to his side as he tucked the blanket over them. It had been an exhausting day, he thought as he closed his eyes, but he was perfectly happy to be where he was.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I am not a mountain/rock climbing expert. While details are as logical as I could make it, it is by no means accurate and techniques are very probably wrong.  
**Note:**  
* Carabiner - a metal loop with a sprung or screwed gate.  
Climbing techniques:  
Harada - free lead climbing, abseiling down. Climbing with only hand and foot holds, without use of equipment, a rope is used as safety precaution to prevent injury, not for climbing.  
Kunimitsu - free climbing with top-rope protection.  
Kuniharu - jumaring or ascending. Climbing using fixed rope instead of rocks. Used in rescue operation and aid climbing.

**Responses to reviews:**

Aoe chan : Thank you! I'm glad Kuniharu's character is working out. Yes, Kunikazu appears to be a big influence in Tezuka's personality. Tezuka and Sanada family – well, there was a brief encounter in the Shichi-Go-San festival. I've been entertaining shogi meet for the two of them and a bit more complex backstory that I'm not sure how to fit in.

Amarie-chil : Thank you. I'm always glad to know Tezuka still remain in-character. It's tough choosing reactions for him that shows a young child and still remain Tezuka.

Faoiltierna : Thank you. Yeah, I agree. I too stick to the tamer side of roughing it out.


	21. Mountain Climbing

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 21: Mountain Climbing Part 2**

The next morning, Kuniharu woke up and found himself pinned under his personal walking alarm clock. At 5am, Kunimitsu was all ready wide awake and sitting on him to wake him up. He was bent over Kuniharu, the feathery fringe of his hair tickling Kuniharu's nose. He appeared to be looking with great interest at the vicinity of Kuniharu's chin.

"Kunimitsu, what are you doing?"

"Papa!" He rubbed his forefinger over his Papa's cheek and chin. Then he curled his finger and scraped his nail against his Papa's jawline, making a soft buzzing sound. He laughed and climbed off.

"Right," said Kuniharu, rubbing his 3-day-old stubble. "Go brush your teeth!" he said as Kunimitsu sat on Harada's legs to wake him up.

Harada sat up in alarm at the unfamiliar weight. "What? Where? Eh?" He looked about for a source of danger but Kunimitsu had quietly disappeared into the bathroom.

"It's 5," said Kuniharu.

Harada peered out at the still dark sky and groaned. "Call me when breakfast is ready," he said and pulled his blankets over his head.

Kuniharu took one last regretful look as his rumpled but warm bed. Then he got up to check on Kunimitsu. The boy had just finished brushing his teeth. Kuniharu knelt down to wipe his face with a wet towel.

Kunimitsu took the opportunity to clapped for his hands on his Papa's jaws, stroking and marvelling at the rough sensation. Kuniharu hugged the boy tightly and rubbed his stubble against Kunimitsu's smooth cheek. Kunimitsu shriek and tried to back away. But he found himself trapped by his Papa's arms wrapped around his back. He squirmed and sat down, slithering through his Papa's grip and slipped out. He quickly padded out of the bathroom. Then crouched behind the door to peer mischievously at his Papa.

"Rawr!" growled Kuniharu playfully.

"Eee!" cried Kunimitsu and pulled his head back out.

"Ok, Papa is going to brush teeth. Play by yourself and don't disturb Harada-san." And locked the bathroom door.

Kuniharu came out of the bathroom cleanly shaved. He should have shaved yesterday morning, but given the early departure, was too lazy to do it. He closed the door to find Kunimitsu's small backpack opened and its contents spilled all over the futon. Kunimitsu had also pulled down Kuniharu's pack and half his body had disappeared into the opening, with his little tushy and toes sticking out.

"Kunimitsu! Don't mess up the packs!"

"Judo-gi!" was Kunimitsu's muffled reply from inside the bag.

"No gi," said Kuniharu.

"Zazen." Kunimitsu pulled his head out looking questioningly at his Papa.

"Just wear your pyjamas."

Kunimitsu looked askance, then shrugged. He stood up, grabbed a cushion from the low dining table and went out to the verandah, sliding the shoji paper door softly aside.

Kuniharu muttered about messy 5-year-olds as he tidied up the clutter, setting aside Kunimitsu's clothes for the day. By the time he was done, Kunimitsu had finished his zazen and was into his warming up routine. Kuniharu took his place beside the boy and joined him in his routine.

Harada came out to the sound of clapping, off-tune singing and childish laughter. Kuniharu was singing some nonsensical song and doing sit-ups. Kunimitsu was sitting on his knees, giggling away and trying to be quiet at the same time.

"Hakone Mountain is hard to climb!" sang Kuniharu.

"Hai!" said Kunimitsu as Kuniharu came up. They clapped hands together.

"Rising in front." Kuniharu sat up again.

"Peaking in the back." Kuniharu bucked his knees, bumping Kunimitsu up and down.

"Clouds around the tops!" He lay down and pushed his knees up.

Kunimitsu sat on Kuniharu's shins, high up in the air, waving his hands. "Clouds!"

"Mist fills the vales." He tilted his feet up, spilling Kunimitsu onto his chest.

"Mist! Sssss ..." Kunimitsu came down wriggling and hissing.

"Aiyo! Aiyo! Aiyo!" cried Kuniharu in mock pain.

"Aiyo! Aiyo! Aiyo!" parroted Kunimitsu.

"Breakfast is ready," said Harada amused.

"Go!" said Kuniharu.

Kunimitsu clambered off and dashed back into the room. "Unagi!" They heard him shouted excitedly. He was all ready seated at the table when they went it.

"Have you washed your hands?"

Kunimitsu showed him his still wet hands.

"What do you say?" said Kuniharu.

"Itadakimasu!" Kunimitsu grabbed his chopsticks and attacked the eel.

Kuniharu quickly piled vegetables into his rice bowl. At least he remembered Ayana's warning about unagi. Kunimitsu would eat nothing but rice and unagi if given the chance. So it was important to put the veggie in first before he finished his rice. By mutual agreement, the minute Kunimitsu ate his last grain of rice, he had finished his meal and was free to run off and play. He was under no obligation to eat anything else, no matter what was piled into his bowl after. Unless, of course, it was something he wanted to eat.

Kunimitsu looked pleadingly at his Papa. The vegetables had buried his unagi. He thought he could get away with it, since Papa was usually less strict about vegetables than Mama.

"These are speciality of the ryokan. You can't get such fresh mountain vegetables in the city. They're delicious. Eat up."

He picked one up gingerly and put it into his mouth. Well, at least it wasn't too objectionable. He ate messily, rice and vegetables scattered around his bowl. And any fish that fell over the side was picked up carefully, to ensure no vegetable was stuck on it, and put into his mouth.

"Dirty!" Kuniharu chided him, but left him to his own devices, as long as as much greens went into his mouth as unagi.

Harada ate with one hand clutching chopsticks and the other clutching his stomach and shoulders shaking with mirth.

Kuniharu pointedly ignored both their antics and ate primly.

"Finished!" Kunimitsu showed his Papa his shiny empty bowl. He had even licked the last smear of unagi sauce from the bottom.

"Go wash your face and hands," said Kuniharu. Kuniharu scraped his mess off the table into the empty bowl. By coincidence, every piece of green onion had miraculously landed on the table in a neat row.

One more bath and dip in the hot springs, mostly empty due to the early hours, and they were off.

Kunimitsu was in high spirit. His little pack did not slow him at all. They had taken to the road again, which was broad and gentle. He ran up and down, squatting to peer at beetles and strange plants, picking up an odd coloured stone.

An hour later, they turned off the main road to a dirt track. A signboard gave it an ominous name, Jigoku-dani, Hell Valley. Twenty minutes of downhill hike brought smell of rotten eggs. Kunimitsu sniffed curiously at first. Then, as they came into view of the barren valley floor, he pinched his nose and made a rude face.

"We won't go down there," assured Kuniharu as they turned to the north edge of the valley.

Below them, yellow chimneys of sulphur sprouted from the muddy ground. Hot steam vents smoked and wreathed around the surface. Ponds of blue-grey water boiled and steamed. Mud puddles bubbled and frothed. Kunimitsu gaped at the otherworldly sight, then hurried along the trail to get away from the sulphurous smell.

The sun was high and bright, when they left the valley behind. But the trees along the route gave them enough shade to make the route quite comfortable. Here and there, they met travellers sitting by the banks of hot steaming stream, soaking their bare feet in the hot water.

Eventually, they left the bathers and climbed into higher elevation. Kuniharu allowed Kunimitsu to range further along the side, as long as he kept within view of the track and his Papa. His brightly coloured backpack made him highly visible amongst the undergrowth.

"Papa, mushroom!" he called excitedly. "It's big and funny yellow."

Both adults came to find him squatting a foot away from a cluster of funnel shaped golden yellow mushrooms. He poked his hiking stick at them for emphasis. Both Kuniharu and Harada had impressed on him not to touch any unknown plants and animals with bare hands.

"Chantrelles!" said Harada happily. "They are delicious." He bent down to pluck a few large ones. "Lunch!" He waved a stalk at Kunimitsu. Kunimitsu smelled apricot.

Kunimitsu, seeing that it was a 'safe to touch' specimen, immediately wanted in on the action. Kuniharu gave him a small pocket knife to use while Harada pointed out the ones he could pick. They left the smaller ones to grow and repopulate. Kuniharu carefully wrapped their find in a square furoshiki cloth and gave the bundle to Kunimitsu to carry proudly.

Buoyed by his success, Kunimitsu peered under logs and between roots. Every few minutes, he would call his Papa to show off his find. A frog, a fat caterpillar with punkish tuffs of hair, bright red mushroom that Harada said was poisonous.

The next find was discovered by Kuniharu. Kunimitsu ran back to him and squatted down. "It's a holes mushroom."

"Black morel mushroom!" said Harada quite pleased. He pointed out at the honeycombed cap, edged with black that stood out against its pale whitish interior. Then quickly plucked it off the ground.

"Holes!" said Kunimitsu, pointing to another one nearby. Before long, they were crawling all over the area looking for the morels. They had about 10 large ones when Kuniharu declared they had enough and should not be greedy. Kunimitsu was getting too good at spotting the mushrooms, since he liked the beautiful honeycomb patterns.

They foraged a few zenmai, young shoots of fiddlehead ferns, with their leaves tightly furled. A few more varieties of wild greens later, they left the highly forested area to emerge on the ridge of the mountain. Below them, the gentler open road snaked in and out between the trees. Ahead of them, a mountain hut perched precariously on the saddle, with the road leading to its doorstep.

They went into the hut. Kuniharu chose a table, nodding and exchanging greetings with fellow travellers. A few had their laptops out, surfing the net. Harada went to speak to the owner and cook, bringing their bundle of harvest with them. When he came out again, the bundle was noticeably smaller.

Kunimitsu slithered down from his bench to peer curiously at the open laptops. Some were boring, with lots of words on the screen. Some had colourful pictures and movement. One lady had screen with a man and woman in strange costume. And she was pressing the keys quite quickly. The people in the computer jump and kick and punched with much explosion and bright fireworks. Kunimitsu liked the fireworks very much. He climbed under the table and insinuated himself between the lady's arms, poking his head right in front of the screen.

She ignored him, intent on her game, till the screen showed "Game Over!" blinking and bouncing all around. Then she looked down at the top of his head. "Hello," she said.

Kunimitsu turned around, craning his head up to look at her. "Hello. I like the fireworks," he said.

"You want to try?"

Kunimitsu turned to his Papa, to see if he needed Papa's permission. But Papa and Harada-san were busy talking with other people. So he took that affirmative. "Yes," he said solemnly.

The lady put his little fingers on the keyboard and showed him which ones to press. In a few minutes, he had the man inside the screen jumping and kicking.

"Make fireworks," said Kunimitsu.

The lady pressed some buttons and there were two people now. "Fight!"

Kunimitsu made fireworks and many explosive sounds in the laptop. The lady let him try many different characters. "The red girl is best," Kunimitsu commented after she kicked and whipped her larger opponent with rainbow starbursts and blue lightning. There was even a judo man. But Kunimitsu did not like him. "He is not doing it properly," he criticised.

"What is he not doing properly?"

Kunimitsu made him roll and throw his opponent over his shoulder again, pointing to the parts that were wrong. "His ukemi is wrong. He put weight on neck and back bone. Ojiisan said very bad. Can hurt and die. Ojiisan scold if do like that." He slithered out under the table again. "Proper way, like this." He positioned himself on one end of the aisle and did a _mae-ukemi_ forward roll, tucking his head in properly and rolling from shoulder to hip, head over heels till he came back to his feet. "Like this!"

The lady clapped and asked him to do it again. That caught the attention of the rest of the guests, including his Papa. But Kunimitsu was too busy to notice as he made several more perfect rolls in succession. His impromptu audience clapped and Kunimitsu felt obliged to bow politely in acceptance.

"Kunimitsu!" said Papa.

Kunimitsu tilted his head to await what Papa will say.

"I'm sorry," Papa said to the nice lady. "Is he disturbing you?"

"No," she shook her head. "not at all. He is a good boy." She patted his head so Papa could not scold him.

"It's time to eat," said Papa to Kunimitsu. "Say thank you to Oneesan."

"Thank you, Oneesan," intoned Kunimitsu with a polite bow and went off with his Papa.

Lunch was a big pot of nabemono steamboat, filled with the fruits of their morning forage, tofu, more vegetables and thinly sliced beef. Kunimitsu had both a rice bowl and a soup bowl. He ate sporadically, playing with the morel mushroom, dipping the cap into the soup and tipping it over to make the soup spill out of the holes. He even tried to unroll the fiddlehead fern and plucked the small leaves one by one.

Papa put more vegetables and beef in Kunimitsu's bowl, burying his mushroom and fern. "Iyaaa!" protested Kunimitsu.

"Eat!" Papa said unsympathetically. He had put a big plate under Kunimitsu's rice bowl to catch the fall out. With Kunimitsu more interested in playing, there were more fall out that usual. Some of the vegetables got rescued from the plate and put back into Kunimitsu's bowl. He had to be more creative to drop and hide the green onions and coriander leaves under the plate where Papa couldn't see.

He turned the mushroom half upside down and floated it like canoe on the soup. He ate his carrots and saved a slice of radish to stand in the hollow of his mushroom. A spiralled tip of the fern was curled the side of one stem while he made sounds of waves crashing and imagined a green giant squid was eating his ship while his radish sailor screamed and drowned and got eaten by Kunimitsu-monster.

"Kunimitsu!" said Papa half an hour later. "If you don't finish your food, Papa will leave you here."

"No!" said Kunimitsu.

"Then eat!"

Kunimitsu quickly ate the rest of his food. In ten minutes, his bowls emptied. "Finished!"

At 7000 feet, the air was dry and chilly. Kuniharu zipped up Kunimitsu's jacket, checking he was warm enough. Kuniharu kept watch on Kunimitsu for signs of altitude sickness, but Kunimitsu was as hale and energetic as usual. He skipped and ran up and down the slope while Kuniharu and Harada stuffed several cans of beer and milk tea into their packs from the vending machine.

They made their way in slow leisurely walk up to the peak. In a short while, their camp ground came into view. They chose a nice level spot and pitched their tents next to each other. Harada with a low, long and narrow one-man tent. Kuniharu and Kunimitsu in a squarish dome-shaped two-men tent. Then Kunimitsu spent many minutes happily zipping and unzipping every meshed door and window, tying and untying the waterproof flaps in as many configurations as possible.

He crawled into Harada's tent, curling himself into the low narrow end peering over the the pack that Harada had stuffed into the tail end. It was dark and very tunnel-like inside. Harada zipped up the front entrance and Kunimitsu made himself comfortable on Harada's soft and fluffy sleeping bag imagining himself a great big dragon and making growling noises. Then as an underground train, calling out station names. "Shinjuku! Roppongi!" can be heard from within.

"Ok, I've got him in my tent. We better hurry and set up everything before he comes out," said Harada.

The work went much more quickly without Kunimitsu underfoot. They set up a roofed area over both entrances and piled their food and cooking gear on a ground sheet in the middle. Then they sat outside enjoying the scenery, and crisp clean air.

When Kunimitsu finally emerged, after figuring out how to unzip the door from inside, Kuniharu and Harada were deep in discussion on which feature they would go for later. Several customers at their lunch place had told them of new vertical wall about half-hour walk from their location, a waterfall and some pools further down. The discussions did not make any sense to Kunimitsu as he went around poking at the unpacked gear. Finding his water bottle empty, he looking around again. There was an open canned drink next to his Papa. Harada-san had one in his hand too. He liked the silver and black shiny design on the can. Kunimitsu took his Papa's can and took a mouthful.

"Kunimitsu!" said Papa sternly, taking the can away.

Kunimitsu made a face and spit out the drink. He stuck his tongue out. "Yuck!" he complained, finding the drink bitter and not at all tasty. "Worse than medicine!" He wiped his tongue with his hands.

"Not for children," Papa scolded him. He gave a cup of water for Kunimitsu to wash the taste out. And made Kunimitsu promise not to drink from that kind of can again. Kunimitsu was quite sorry and said he won't even drink it when he was grown up like Papa, because it was such a horrible water.

Harada took pity on him enough to open a can of milk tea for him. He eyed the can suspiciously and licked a drop from the lid. Finding it sweet and milky, he happily drank it down and that cleared off the last of bad after taste.

* * *

**Note:**  
* Hakone Mountains (Traditional Song) - Selected lines taken and butchered.  
* Oneesan - elder sister. Also used to address a young woman by someone younger than her.  
* Kids, at any age, will naturally test the limit of their parents and caretakers.  
* Black Morel mushroom grows from April to June, often after forest fires or other traumatic events in the woods.  
* Fiddlehead ferns are harvested in early spring. Each plant produces seven tops that turn into fronds. Pick three tops per plant; over-picking will kill the plant.  
* Altitude sickness can occur at 8000 ft or 3km above sea level. Symptoms headache, nausea, insomnia, breathing difficulty, etc.  
* Harada's tent model - Highlander Falcon Hooped bivi tent

**Responses:**

Aoe chan: Thank you. 'And we continue on' writer had quite a few good ones, too bad they are all incomplete. thanks for the rec.

Faoiltierna: Thanks! I remembered someone told me, to be a parent, you need a heart of iron to let kids learn important lessons.

Amarie-Chil: More 'super-papa' for your reading pleasure. His parenting style is quite different from Ayana.

Aan: Thanks! School trip vote, eh? Looks like this is special trips year for young Tezuka.


	22. Mountain Climbing Part 3

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 22: Mountain climbing Part 3**

Kuniharu woke up to feeling of being kicked. Kunimitsu was wriggling next to him rather urgently, trying to get out. He unzipped the side of the sleeping bag to let the boy out.

Kunimitsu stumbled out to scramble to the side, peering intently at the mesh window.

"What is it?"

"Hairy ghost."

"Eh?"

Something brushed the side of their tent and a long hairy white face loomed over Kunimitsu's side window to block the faint pre-dawn light.

"Ah!" cried Kunimitsu surprised. He fell backwards over Kuniharu.

Kuniharu grabbed him before he scrambled off again. "Jacket," he said before Kunimitsu dashed of with nothing but thin cotton pyjamas and bare feet.

Kunimitsu shrugged into his jacket absent-mindedly. His hands all ready busy unzipping the door. "Hairy ghost getting away," he said excitedly.

"Slowly, quietly," said Kuniharu.

Kunimitsu, with much exaggerated stealth, crawled out of the tent before Kuniharu managed to climb out of his own sleeping bag.

"Oh!" he heard Kunimitsu exclaimed followed by more rustling.

Kuniharu poked his head out to find Harada also in the same position, except his friend did not even bother getting out of his sleeping bag, wisely keeping his lower half warm and snug.

"Kamoshika," whispered Harada.

Kunimitsu was standing eye to eye with an adult goat-like creature with long bushy hair and two short horns on its head. Kunimitsu was pulling on one end of a stalk of leek while the kamoshika was chewing on the other leafy end.

"Bad! Naughty!" whispered Kunimitsu fiercely. "Naughty!" he said with good imitation of Ayana's tone and inflection. "Naughty boy!" His voice getting louder.

Around them, the other campers were stirring and poking their heads out.

Harada simply reached back with his right hand and in moments, had his camera out to snap at the rare sight of Kunimitsu playing tug of' war with a goat.

"Just let him eat it, Kunimitsu," said Kuniharu.

Kunimitsu looked at his hand for a moment, considering the distaste of surrendering his leek. Then deciding that leek being eaten by goat was better than leek to be eaten by him, let go of his end. Stem and roots disappeared into the soft muzzle. Having swallowed the leek, the goat nuzzled Kunimitsu's hands for more. Kunimitsu grabbed handful of green onions from the pawed open bag and gave them to the goat.

"Don't give him more vegetables!" said Kuniharu too late. He grabbed handfuls of wild grass, the goat's natural food, growing by the side and gave those to Kunimitsu.

A few flashes went off and the bolder campers were crouched around their camp site for a closer look. A few powerful torch lights homed in on the goat. Feeling itself crowded and nervous from being surrounded, the goat huffed, grabbed a last mouthful of grass and turned tail, disappearing into the bushes.

"Ah!" protested Kunimitsu, scrambling after it.

Kuniharu quickly grabbed the back of his jacket. "Let it go."

The other campers, in various states of undress, dispersed and made their shivering way back to their tents, talking excitedly.

"Interesting way to wake up," said Harada laughingly. Then he popped his head back in, zipped himself and in minutes, they could hear him snoring away.

"Doctors!" muttered Kuniharu. "They can really sleep any time." His watch showed 5:30 am.

He carried Kunimitsu back into the tent, telling the boy to sit quietly on his sleeping bag. Then, he went out and fired up the camp stove to boil water. In a few minutes, he came in with warm wet towels to wipe Kunimitsu down, cleaning off goat slobber, grass, dirt and goat hair. Then, he got Kunimitsu into his day clothes, with socks and sweater to ward against morning chill.

"Brush teeth," Kunimitsu reminded him, pulling out his little toothbrush and strawberry-flavoured Kodomo toothpaste. Kuniharu grabbed two cups and they made their way to the public facilities hut for the rest of their morning toilet.

"I smell something burning," said Harada as he poked his head out. "Tezuka? Tezuka!"

No answer.

"Haru-chan!"

"Er-gyah!"

"What is that?"

"Breakfast."

"Ex-breakfast."

"It's still edible."

"It's black, Papa," said Kunimitsu helpfully. He was peering with great curiosity into the pot.

"After 20 years, you can still burn water," said Harada.

"Be quiet," said Kuniharu as he poured more water into the pot.

"Pouring water does not un-burnt it."

"Bleh." Black flakes floated up as he stirred the pot. "Yekkk! Gah!"

Kunimitsu's tummy growled for emphasis.

"Myaaah!"

"Okay, okay, I get the hint," said Harada seeing Kuniharu reduced to incoherent single syllable vocalisation. " Just let me get dressed first. Wash the pot for me." He disappeared back into his tent.

"Eat this," said Kuniharu, giving Kunimitsu an apple. Then scraped and dumped the pot contents into the garbage.

"Honestly," complained Harada good-naturedly, "10 years in medical school, and I'm still a lowly camp-cook."

"You're the only one you can decently handle a knife and pot."

"Sigh ... from surgeon to cook. How I have fallen."

"Stop being such a drama queen."

"I know! You are now the scullery maid. Go wash these bowls and chopsticks. Get me another plate."

"Tyrant!"

Harada expertly sliced the rest of their mushrooms and slid them into the soup. Kunimitsu watched with big fascinated eyes at his knife work. Fragrant aroma rose from the pot and Kunimitsu's tummy growled again in anticipation.

"Just a little while more, Kunimitsu-kun," Harada said, patting him on the head. "Here, help me put some pepper in. Just two shakes... Good boy. And now, some salt. Two shakes. Good." Harada spooned some of the soup and blew on it. "The kamoshika ate our green onions, so we don't have any for breakfast. Luckily it doesn't like mushrooms and carrots."

Kunimitsu nodded sagely. He was secretly pleased they did not have any for breakfast. And tried not to feel too guilty about feeding it to the animal.

"Now taste." Harada gave the spoon to Kunimitsu who slurped it noisily. "Good?"

Kunimitsu nodded.

"Good boy. You make a good sous chef, Kunimitsu-kun." Harada leaned over the side and yelled, "Oi, scullery maid! Where are my bowls?"

"Slave Master, your humble servant presents to your exalted presence, these super shiny, highly scrubbed, meticulously disinfected, high precision polished vessels of gastronomy. The delicate bone-white polymer-ware, infused with bright sensational colours painted by multi-million-dollar robotics of highly trained programmed artisans, authentically scored with fine lines to show its antiquity of impressive 3 years of age, the first of its kind that established the foundation of 1990s plastic table ware of the century. They appease the eyes, provide the best canvas for a culinary master of your exquisite calibre, and is feather-light on your wallet. " Kuniharu presented 3 stacked bowls with a courtly bow.

Harada dropped his spoon, flabbergasted. "Wow!" he said. "I think you almost sold me cheap 100-yen plastic bowls for 1 million yen. And at the same time just insulted my cooking."

"_Au contraire, __mon__ frère_, the interpretation is highly dependent on the recipient's self-confidence and indicative on what he thinks of himself. I am, as always, simply providing opportunities for self-enlightenment at your convenience." He performed another courtly bow, like a maestro conductor, with one arm in front and one arm folded at the back.

Harada laughed as he poured the ramen into 3 bowls. "That was precious! Is that how you justify your exorbitant salary? "

"I only provide the best master work, young grasshopper," said Kuniharu sagely, smoothly sitting down and affecting the pose of serenity worthy of Amitābha Buddha. "The price justifies the product."

"..." Harada's face contorted, trying to figure out the logic Kuniharu just sold him. It sounded perfectly reasonable common sense. That in itself was highly suspicious when Kuniharu was in his purple-prose prank mood. Did Kuniharu just sold him hot air logic again? He shrugged his shoulders in defeat and shook his head in amusement at his friend. Then wisely followed Kunimitsu's example and dug into his breakfast.

The sound of slurping, chewing and blowing filled the camp site for many minutes. As they ate, Harada's eyes surveyed the damage the kamoshika did to their supplies. Added that to Kuniharu's disastrous attempt at cooking.

"Tezuka," said Harada with a puzzled frown, "why were you making breakfast? You usually leave that to me."

"Kunimitsu was hungry."

"Why didn't you give him milk?"

"I left his formula in the ryokan," he said, red-faced. "And he finished all the boxed milk yesterday."

"Oh." Harada chewed his noodles thoughtfully. "Oh!" he said, finally connecting the dots. "I'll try to wake up earlier tomorrow."

"Thanks."

"You're still washing the dishes."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Kuniharu wiped Kunimitsu down. How Kunimitsu managed to get noodles on his ear when it was no where near his mouth was a mystery to him. Then, he gathered the used crockery and went to do the washing up, telling Kunimitsu to stay with Harada.

"Papa, look!"

Kuniharu came back to find Kunimitsu jumping up and down trying to catch the undulating tail of a small koi flag. He had hammered a multi-segment tent-pole next to their tents and hung up 3 koi windsocks, two big and one small, while Kunimitsu slept last night. Kunimitsu had finally noticed, after the early morning excitements.

He nodded in satisfaction to see that he had guessed the wind direction correctly as the light nylon windsocks filled and puffed up into long fat fishes that fluttered at the merest breeze.

"He is adorable!" said Harada, busy taking pictures again.

"Up!" Kuniharu scooped the little boy up and put him on his shoulders.

"Small fish! Big fish!" cried Kunimitsu as he caught and released the thrashing tails.

At 9pm, Kunimitsu was safely tucked in and sleeping. It had been a busy day.

They had walked to the top of a vertical cliff 2 km away from camp, abseiling down to the valley below. Kunimitsu was strapped to Kuniharu's back while the two men descended in parallel. Kunimitsu was quite taken with it. At the bottom, Kuniharu let him try abseiling a shorter 2-metre distance, climbing up and down the rope.

Then, they had picnic lunch by the pools near the waterfalls. Kuniharu displayed his special skill at tickling for fish between huge rocks. Kunimitsu was much impressed and was very enthusiastic about learning the magic trick. He splashed around chasing the fishes around the pool, much to their amusement. Harada had wisely perched himself on high ground with camera in hand. Kuniharu, on the other hand, was thoroughly soaked.

After that, they spent some time foraging for wild greens with little success. At least, Kuniharu's fishing made up for their lost supplies.

The next morning, they decamped and made their way home.

Kuniharu considered the trip a success. Kunimitsu only asked for his Mama five times in four days. He was tired, but happy when they got home. His clothes wrinkled, his hair like bird's nest because none them remembered to comb his hair. Ayana gave him meaningful looks when Kunimitsu proudly showed off his scabs and scratches. But since the boy was more excited than traumatised, his wife did not say anything about them. The final clincher was, when asked if he preferred tennis or mountain climbing, Kunimitsu declared: "Mountain-climbing Papa is better than Tennis Papa!"

He had justification to never ever pick up a tennis racket ever again.

* * *

**Notes:**  
_*** kamoshika**_ - Japanese serow, a goat-antelope indigenous to Japan mountains, 60 to 90 cm at the shoulder. Kamoshika are mottled brown and white and black underneath. Their fur, especially tails, are very bushy. Both sexes have short 10cm horns, which curve backwards.  
* Lion's **Kodomo **toothpaste for children. Famous for fruity flavours.  
*** Koi nobori**, carp streamer, are carp-shaped wind socks flown to celebrate Children's Day (Boy's Day). They are hollow and made of paper, plastic, silk, nylon in koi shape with an O ring fixed to the mouth to allow the wind to blow through. Kites are attached to poles with strings connected to the mouth part. Big size represents adult, small size represent sons in the household.  
* _Au contraire, __mon__ frère_ = French _On the contrary, my brother._ Can be applied to brotherly comrade.  
* **tickling**, aka trout tickling. Catching fish under rocks and overhang with bare hands by stroking the underbelly and grabbing the gills.

* * *

Phew! This arc took longer than I thought. Hope you enjoyed the ride.  
Last chapter was on playful Kunimitsu. Kunimitsu was a little more pro-active. He was in social environment and he was with people he was comfortable with (Papa). This chapter, Kunimitsu had time to warm up to Harada, so Kuniharu was confident enough to leave Kunimitsu with his friend.  
Introverts can socialise, if they want to, like Kunimitsu's agenda to fulfil his curiosity. They can be quite gregarious in small groups of two or three. A distinct trait of introverts, they can entertain themselves with their own exploration and imagination. Kuniharu is a lucky man his kid is introverted and can be left to play by himself. Otherwise, he would have to provide entertainment 24x7 or deal with a bored and cranky kid.  
Kuniharu, on the other hand, is extroverted. In this story, I'm loosely modelling him as ENTP. ENTP are normally verbally quick, outgoing, flexible, resourceful, with perverse sense of humour. Also, I realised I've been mentioning him as chatty without giving him much dialogue, so hopefully, this chapter fixes that.

**Faoiltierna** : Wow! So many high points. Thank you! The beer thing actually happened to me, around 7 or 8. So much so, I don't like beer today. Turned me off alcoholic beverages till mid-20s.  
**Aoe chan: **Thanks. Birthday party, in a household of 3/4 no-party people? I have till Oct, right? :P Actually, I have no idea what Kuniharu does professionally. If you find it vague, it's because I've left it vague. Tezuka's canon profile only mentioned him as salary man. I'd probably need to deal with his work at some point. For now, I just work on the premise that he is salaried professional who works in the office for a multi-national corporation and is senior enough that he socialises with top management. Since he can afford to maintain a large house in Tokyo(!), expensive hobbies, expensive holidays (Europe), he has to be management level at least.  
Yes, it's frustrating when a good story is discontinued. The Tezuka story would have been interesting as it looked like it was going to be psychological/trauma based.  
**literaryrxn****, Amarie-Chil**: Yeah. I don't like beer taste too. :D

**MoonlitKeys**: Thank you.


	23. Visiting the Sanada family

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 23: Visiting the Sanada family**

Kunimitsu gripped his Ojiisan's fingers tightly and pressed himself against Ojiisan's leg. The crowded train made him uncomfortable. There were many people rushing to and fro. He was in constant danger of being swept away in the tide of human bodies. Handbags and backpacks swung with abandon were a hazard. He had narrowly missed being brained by one. One handbag had clipped his ear and it was painful.

It was noisy. A constant rumble that was the train underscored everything. Over it, were a mix of human voices and tinny music and shuffling and coughing, punctuated by loud taped announcements. The noise, the constant shifting movement, the press of legs and the bright blinking lights everywhere were bewildering.

He was tired and hurting from sensory overload. He wanted to go home. But he was with Ojiisan and he had to be in his best behaviour. He had tried his best to be good for a long long time. And now, he really did not feel like being a good boy any more. He wanted his Mama and his quiet home.

He clung desperately to Ojiisan's trouser legs as another wave washed past him. Suddenly, he felt himself lifted up in the air. Ojiisan glaring fiercely past his shoulder. Suddenly, the pressure around him eased.

"It's okay. Just bear it for a while longer. We're almost there." Ojiisan's voice was low and deep and perfectly calm.

Kunimitsu wrapped his arms around Ojiisan's neck and closed his eyes, shutting out most of the world, listening to Ojiisan's steady heartbeat. In a few more minutes, the hour-long ordeal was over.

They emerged into a bright sunny morning and Kunimitsu did not protest as Ojiisan continued to carry him to a nearby park. The bench Ojiisan chose was secluded and screened all around by dense trees. It was cool and quiet and after several more minutes of being cradled by Ojiisan, Kunimitsu was feeling more like himself again.

"Are you ready to go?" asked Ojiisan when Kunimitsu finally poked his head up to look around him.

Kunimitsu nodded.

"Let's go," said Ojiisan and let him down to his feet. "We are going to meet the Sanada family. They are old friends. They have a little boy, just like you. You will play nicely with him, won't you? I'm sure he is a good boy, just like you."

Kunimitsu nodded dubiously. No one is as good as him. He promised himself to be the best good boy he had ever been.

Ojiisan took his hand and they walked together to the Sanada residence.

"Hello, Kunimitsu-kun. This is Genichirou." Sanada-ojiisan introduced the boy next to him.

Genichirou scowled at him. He scowled back. They eyed each other like two tomcats with raised heckles. Then he remembered he was to behave and schooled his features back to neutrality.

Ojiisan patted his head. "Play quietly with Genichirou-kun. Sanada-ojiisan and I will be in the next room." Then, the two children were left to themselves.

Genichirou stared at Kunimitsu. Kunimitsu stared at Genichirou. Neither blinked. They remained that way till Genichirou's mother came in.

On the table, she placed teapot and a plate of soft gyūhi, dyed dark green and shaped into pine trees. "Your Mama makes such nice matsunoyuki, Kunimitsu-kun. Come and look, Genichirou. They are so pretty. Oh! They just too pretty to eat!"

Genichirou's scowl deepened and he grabbed a piece to stuff into his mouth. Just to prove that it wasn't too pretty to eat.

Kunimitsu closed his eyes and snubbed Genichirou's rude behaviour. He sat on opposite Genichirou's mother. "I helped Mama make them," he declared proudly.

"Which one did you make?"

"All! I put the snow on the pine trees." He pointed to the powdered white candy sprinkled liberally on the sweets.

"Oh! Clever Kunimitsu-kun! Isn't it delicious, Rou-chan?"

Genichirou regretted eating it. He knew his mother would never forgive him if he spit the sweet out in front of Kunimitsu.

"Eat some, Kunimitsu-kun."

Kunimitsu tilted his head. He liked Mama's snacks very much. "Only one," he told Genichirou's mama solemnly. "My Mama said I had too many." He bent down and whispered, "I ate all the oopsies! And leftovers. And Papa's too."

Genichirou's mama laughed and poured warm tea for all of them. She had cooled it by melting a few ice cubes so the children would not burn themselves.

Genichirou frowned fiercely at Kunimitsu. Kunimitsu all ready had his own mama. He did not like Kunimitsu being all nice and cute with Genichirou's mama.

"Rou-chan, come sit next to 'kaasan."

Genichirou squeezed up against his mama, practically climbing into her lap.

"Mou, Rou-chan!" His mama wrapped her arms around him and gave him a little hug.

Genichirou gave Kunimitsu a smug look. _Mine!_ it said, just to show him he can't have Genichirou's mama.

Kunimitsu ignored him. He reached for his backpack and brought out his shogi box. "Ojiisan gave me," he told her, because he was still pretending Genichirou did not exist. He proudly showed off the beautifully polished tiles.

"Oh! Genichirou is also learning to play shogi. Aren't you, Rou-chan. Why don't you two play a game?"

Genichirou shrugged nonchalantly. But his eyes glittered with anticipation.

"Okay," said Kunimitsu and set up the tiles.

"I will play the King!" said Genichirou, racing to arrange the tiles.

In a few minutes, they were both absorbed in the game. Genichirou's mama left them to play by themselves while she checked on their grandfathers.

In the next room, Kuniharu and Genemon, Genichirou's grandfather were seated at a table with papers strewn around them. There were growls exchanged, loud thumps of palms on table top to emphasise a point, and sheaves of paper being shaken and stabbed at. Genichirou's mama placed the tea set and poured for both men. Then closed the door behind her, smiling to herself. Looked like both grandfathers were enjoying themselves very much.

Next, she prepared a plate of konyakku jellies for the boys. Both of them were kneeling on the floor with the board between them. Every line on Genichirou's body was stiff. His hands clenched into fists and his eyes had that watery quality that looked like he was about to burst into tears. Kunimitsu leaned forward on his hands, peering curiously at Genichirou.

"Are you going to cry?" Kunimitsu asked in childish fascination.

Genichirou gritted his teeth. He was close to a tantrum. She had better intervened before the storm broke. But before she could reach them, Genichirou swept the tiles off the board, demanding loudly, "One more time!" She blinked in surprise. Her baby actually swallowed his tears and frustration to try again.

Kunimitsu simply shrugged and calmly re-arranged the tiles. After a few seconds, Genichirou followed his example, although with a bit more force, banging the tiles one by one.

She sat through another two rounds of their games. Kunimitsu was obviously a better player and each time, Genichirou had a hard time dealing with losing to another boy. By the third game, Genichirou was better at controlling his temper and managed to last a little longer against Kunimitsu's attacks.

By then, they had emptied their plates and cups. She took away the dishes and left them to play by themselves.

"I'm bored," said Genichirou, rolling around on the floor. He didn't like losing.

Kunimitsu tilted his head. "What do you want to do?"

"Let's play swords!"

"Ojiisan said little boys should not play with weapons."

"Are you stupid? They're not real swords. It's just bamboo ones. I have lots!"

Kunimitsu did not like being called stupid. "Then you should say they are not real swords."

"Come on, I'll show you."

Genichirou grabbed his hand and dragged him to the dojo. It was in the next building, attached by a short corridor. It was empty with hard wood flooring and racks on the side. Genichirou closed the door carefully behind him but did not turn on the lights.

"It's dark," Kunimitsu protested.

"Shh!" He opened a wooden window shutter facing away from the main house. "There. It's not dark now."

Kunimitsu had wandered to a shelf at one end of the room, where the sunlight had fallen on two long curved shapes placed on lacquered wooden pedestal.

"Oh!" He ran his hands over the scabbard and hilt. Then he put his hands on hilt and pulled. Two inches of mirror-bright steel slid out and shone brilliantly.

"Hey!" yelled Genichirou. "Don't touch that." He quickly pushed the hilt back and checked the door.

"It's a real katana," said Kunimitsu, quite impressed. He had just learned the word 'katana' from a samurai anime on television.

"Of course, it is," said Genichirou smugly. "We can't play with that. Ojiisan will get angry. Come on! The shinais are here."

"What is a shinai?" At that point, Kunimitsu was more curious than anxious about being called stupid again.

"It's a bamboo sword. We use it in Kendo." He showed Kunimitsu a tall bin with many sizes and styles of shinai. They were made of bamboo slats tied together to make a blade. It had a blunt cap on one end and a handle on the other.

Genichirou pulled the bin down so it lay horizontally on the floor, within easy reach of their small stature.

Kunimitsu pulled out the longest one. "It's heavy." The tip dragged on the floor even though he tried holding it up with both hands.

"That's for big adults," said Genichirou. He pulled out two shortest ones. "Here, these are for children."

But Kunimitsu was no longer listening to him. He had turned around and straddled the long shinai. "Neiiigh!" he cried as he galloped around the room, bare feet slapping against the wooden floor. "Hyah!"

Genichirou chased him around the room shouting, "Stop! Police! Freeze!"

"Highwayman! Bandit!" cried Kunimitsu, running faster and faster.

Finally, both of them collapsed side by side on the floor, dizzy and breathless.

When they caught their breaths, they went back to the bin to pick through more shinai. They re-enacted sword fights, taking turns to be the 'bad guy' and dying noisily and with much dramatics.

Genichirou, emboldened by their escapade, opened the closets where kendo armour were kept. They put on the large kendo-gi jacket and hakama. Long sleeves trailing over their hands and hakama legs pooled around their feet. The breastplates were too big and heavy and left on the floor. The meshed helmets gave them much pleasure of secrecy, even though they slid around and rattled and came down to their shoulders.

They were still flailing at each other with shinai when Genichirou's elder brother found them when he wanted to practice. By then, the Sanada family and Kunimitsu's Ojiisan had been looking for them for over an hour.

Both boys were duly scolded and made to clean up the mess. The dojo looked like a tornado had ran through it, with kendo equipment strewn haphazardly all over the floor. Genichirou's brother had to help them hang up the things. While they were tall enough to pull the clothes down, the boys were too short to reach the hooks to hang the clothes back up.

Then, they were punished with sitting in seiza in one corner of the room while their grandfathers played shogi. By then, Kunimitsu was so tired, he fell over. Without waking up, he instinctively pillowed his head on the cushion and fell asleep. Genichirou followed after and they slept peacefully side by side.

Kunimitsu woke up in the train on the way home. Ojiisan had bundled his coat around Kunimitsu and carried him draped over one shoulder.

"Are you hungry?" Ojiisan asked him quietly when Kunimitsu began to stir.

Kunimitsu shook his head. He snuggled closer to Ojiisan, feeling much safer with Ojiisan carrying him.

"Did you have fun playing with Genichirou-kun?"

He pondered for a moment. He nodded his head. "Yes. Even though he made us naughty. And I win!"

"You win?"

"Shogi. I win! Three times!" He showed three little fingers at Ojiisan.

"Good boy! I'm proud of you." He kissed Kunimitsu's forehead.

Kunimitsu beamed widely. Then he pressed his nose to Ojiisan's neck and fell asleep again.

* * *

**Notes:**  
* Tokyo to Kamakura by train - East JR, Yokosuka Line from Tokyo Central Station to Kamakura, Kanagawa. Approx 55 minutes travel time.  
* **Matsunoyuki **(literally pine snow) is a Japanese sweet made by sprinkling ground foam candy on to a dark green gyūhi (similar to soft mochi) in the shape of a pine tree. Snow on a pine tree symbolises long life and strong life force.  
* **Kendo **(Way of the Sword) is a modern Japanese sword-fighting martial art based on traditional samurai kenjutsu.  
* **katana **is a type of Japanese sword with a curved, single edged blade.  
* **shinai **(bamboo sword) is a cylindrical practice sword used in kendo training and competition. Boken is a another practice wooden sword, much closer in shape to katana.

**Response to Reviews:**

Sarang-Ui Mellodi : Thank you! Hope you will stay for more instalments of little Kunimitsu.

Faoiltierna : Hehe! Kunimitsu's messy hair is quite endearing, even after he grew up.

Aoe chan : Last chapter was part 2. It's that this chapter, I ran out of title. Hehe! More ice-cream? I never thought messy eater Kunimitsu could end up such a hit.

Amarie-Chil : Kunimitsu is a smart little devil, isn't he? :D I'll try to cover all requests in the next few chapters, starting with this one. I'll probably combine a few suggestions into one chapter. Anyway, next one might be a little late. Have to figure out what activities they have for preschool kids.


	24. Sweet Potato

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 24 - Sweet potato**

Ayana took out a box bearing Kuniharu's company logo. It was filled with straw inside. Kunimitsu knelt on the chair to peer over her arm.

"Can we eat that?" He pulled a strip of straw out, eyeing it suspiciously.

"No," said Ayana. "But there are treasures inside we can eat." She put her hand inside and pulled out a long fat shape. It was light beige coloured.

"Potato," said Kunimitsu unimpressed.

"Sweet potato," said Ayana.

"I want!" said Kunimitsu.

Ayana tilted the box towards him.

Kunimitsu plunged both hands into the straw, feeling rounded hard shapes in the soft strands. He pulled out a thinner specimen that tapered into a sharp pointed end. It was rich dark purple in colour. "This?"

"Sweet potato," said Ayana.

"And this?" Kunimitsu showed the other hand with a rose orange skin.

"Sweet potato," said Ayana smiling.

Kunimitsu furrowed his brows. Something was very wrong here. He put his hands into the box and pulled out more tubers.

There was a lighter purple one and light orange one and more of the beige ones and reddish ones. They all looked different from each other. Some were rounded, some were tapered, some short and fat, long and skinny, big and small, straight and wriggly.

"This? And this? And this?" he pointed to each.

"Sweet potato." Ayana grinned as he looked between her and the row of tubers, brows wrinkled in perplexity.

"But ... but ... they all different."

"Aa. They are all different types of sweet potato."

"Oh." Kunimitsu watched in fascination as his mama carefully washed and brushed them clean.

"They are all different inside too," said Ayana. She cut each of them open, so Kunimitsu could see the cross sections.

Some were white, some creamy yellow, some golden yellow. Then there were light oranges, reddish oranges, pink, reddish purple, and even bright dark blue purple. One was magenta speckled with white. He poked them and smelled them. The purple ones left stains on his hand. They were all different.

"We eat them?" asked Kunimitsu.

"Yes, we will eat them. Let's cook them, okay?"

"All?"

"What Kunimitsu like?"

"All!"

Ayana laughed. She took half of each tuber and cut them into cubes. While she was cutting, Kunimitsu climbed into the box and made a nest from the straw inside. Pretending to be an egg was boring. He moved to baby bird, explorer on canoe, race car driver and fighter pilot.

When Ayana was done, she put all the cubes into a big pot. Kunimitsu climbed back up the chair to peer into it. He put his hands inside and stirred them around, mixing all the colourful cubes together.

"Pretty," he said.

Ayana gave him a cup of sugar. "Pour inside."

Kunimitsu dutifully pour it in, sprinkling the grains like snow over the colourful mound.

"Water."

He poured bowls of water Ayana gave him into the pot. "Iiiya!" he shook his head at slices of ginger.

"You don't have to eat them. We'll take them out before eating. Okay?"

He pondered for a moment, then gave his consent.

"Stir." Ayana gave him a long ladle to stir in. Then, she took the pot away and put it on the stove top. "Good. Now we make other things."

She steamed the other halves, then mashed them according to colour until she had bowls of white, yellow, orange and purple. Then she made dough out of each colour and Kunimitsu helped rolled them into balls. Sometimes, he got bored and made ovals, thick discs, triangles and even stuck two round ones together to make a fat snowman. Some were simply indentation of the inside of his fist.

Since Kunimitsu had been very helpful, she gave him a small bowl of mashed orange coloured sweet potatoes she saved for him to eat. He squished it with his hands and licked it off his fingers and palms and as it was squeezed out of his fists. He liked the natural sweetness and warm creamy texture. And most of all, he loved the soft squishiness as it oozed in every direction imaginable.

While Kunimitsu was occupied with his reward, Ayana deep fried the balls and set them aside to cool. His Mama's were the same size and perfectly round little balls. Kunimitsu's were in all shapes and sizes.

He chose all the tiny ones, picking them off the wire colander, punctuated with little ouches as he burnt his fingers. He dropped them into his bowl of mashed ones. He spent more minutes blowing and poking to check if they cooled down enough. Then he ate them as soon as he could hold them in his hands. He liked the crunchy bits.

By the time his Papa and Ojiisan came home, the snacks were ready eat. Kunimitsu had been bathed and scrubbed till all traces of sweet potato and flour had been removed from his hair, hands, nails and face.

Kunimitsu took one ball of each colour, eating them from lightest white to dark purple. Then he fished out the cubes from the soup and lined them up on the plate, eating them one colour at a time. He liked the purple ones for its unusual colour. He asked for seconds and thirds and ate all the purple ones.

When he was done, he pulled Papa into the study and asked how to make different coloured sweet potato. Papa pulled out on agricultural book and several encyclopaedias. They sat together studying the pictures of how the sweet potato were planted and harvested.

Then, Papa told him about where sweet potato came from and how it was planted all over the world and that was why the sweet potato have different skin and flesh colours. They spread the world map on the floor so Kunimitsu could see the countries Papa was talking about. Then, Papa opened another box of sweet potatoes. As he took out each tuber, he read the labels and announced the country it came from. Kunimitsu made a game of crawling all over the map to find its country of origin. He had no problem finding Nigeria for the white variety, but Peru took him a while before he realised he had to cross to the east of the Pacific Ocean.

He traced with his fingers how sweet potato plant, originating from South America, was spread to Micronesian islands, up the South East Asian archipelago to Thailand, Indochina, China, Okinawa, Kyuushuu and finally to Edo, which became Tokyo.

He scrutinised the map, following the arrows with his little fingers. Japan as a small long bent shape, broken into 4 pieces. There were so much water and a big big land mass that Papa called Asia. Kunimitsu's world felt bigger and smaller at the same time.

He took the encyclopaedia to bed with him. After he finished reading about sweet potato, he went on to read about Swimming, Switzerland, Swordfish, Tabard, Tail, and Taiwan. He did not understand all the words, but the pictures were bright and colourful and new to him. He fell asleep between Taj Mahal and Talon.

Kuniharu put a bookmark on the page Kunimitsu was reading and set the book aside. Ayana tucked him in and turned the lights off.

"I think Mi-chan likes sweet potato," grinned Kuniharu.

"You know he doesn't like being called _Mi-chan_ since he was four," Ayana reminded him. "And no matter how much he likes them, five boxes are still too much, dear."

"Ah ... I can't help it. The vendor sent a whole shipping container of samples. The R&D people only took 10 boxes. I pushed as much as I can out to everyone in the building."

"Even after I give them away to our neighbours, we would still be eating sweet potato for a week!"

"I am sure my amazing Aya-chan can manage it."

Ayana sighed.

The following week, Kunimitsu was treated to sweet potato tempura, sweet potato rice, sweet potato in porridge, stew, curry, croquette, manju, pie, pudding, cake, dumplings, grilled, baked, roasted, boiled, candied, crackers, mochi ... Every shape, size, consistency, texture and taste Ayana could think of.

She made large batches of sweet potato snacks for Kunimitsu's classmates and Kunimitsu became the most popular boy at recess. After being mobbed on the first day by eager kids, Kunimitsu learned to be smarter. He made all the kids lined up and dispense one snack at a time from a big basket like Santa Claus on Christmas spree.

Some of the smarter ones joined the queue the second time, but Kunimitsu was usually alert enough to spot them and send them to the side. When everyone had a piece each, and there were leftovers, he gave them to those who came back for seconds. Sometimes, he got so carried away he forgot to save one for himself. But he was happy to give these treats away, so he didn't mind so much.

After a week, Ayana was heartily sick of sweet potatoes. But Kunimitsu never noticed and gamely ate them all with relish, especially the purple ones. Ayana was convinced he had eaten enough vitamin A and anti-oxidants to last a life time. She wouldn't be surprised if he turned purple overnight.

* * *

**Notes:**  
**Some Types of sweet potato** (~400 varieties)  
- Hernandez - deep rose orange flesh, red skin  
- Puerto Rican - light orange flesh, light orange skin  
- Japanese Purple - purple flesh, purple skin  
- Murasaki - white flesh, purple skin  
- O'Henry - white flesh, beige skin  
- Okinawa - purple and white flesh, beige skin  
- Vietnamese - yellow flesh, purple skin  
- and many more ...  
**Snacks **(pls google for recipe or pictures)  
- Fried sweet potato balls (SE Asia snack)  
- Sweet potato & ginger soup (Chinese dessert)  
- manju - steamed bun, originated from Chinese steamed bun - _mantou_ and _baozi. Baozi_ is just _mantou_ with fillings. Sweet potato can be used in paste form as filling or incorporated into the dough to flavour the bun.

* The redder the colour of the sweet potato, the higher its vitamin A content.  
* Purple pigments in sweet potato are anti-oxidants cyanidin and peonidin (purple to blue pigments of blueberries, grapes, morning glory and peony).

* Sweet potatoes are native to the tropical parts of South America, and domesticated there at least 5000 years ago. It spread to Oceania, Polynesia, Malay archipelago, South East Asia, China to Japan.

* Reliable crop in cases of crop failure of other staple foods due to typhoon flooding. China, Indonesia, Uganda, Vietnam, India, are major sweet potato growers. North and South America, together grow less than 3% of the world's supply. Europe has very small sweet potato production, mostly in Portugal.

* Sweet Potato became associated with hard times in the minds of ancestors and when they became affluent enough to change their menu, it was served less often.

* Young leaves, shoots and vine tips of sweet potato leaves are widely consumed as a vegetable in African and East Asian countries.

* * *

First, I must apologise for the long wait. I've been meaning to do sweet potato digging school trip for Tezuka. Instead, it ended a sweet potato head trip. So, I'll have figure out some other school trip.

In a strange association, I guess sweet potato topic is sort of fitting for the recent disasters that hit Japan. Sweet potato had been associated with difficult times in east Asia.

Once upon a time, the rice crops failed in Japan and there was great famine. Many people, especially the southern parts of Japan, subsisted on sweet potato. In turn, sweet potato became widely planted and consumed in Japan. It is one of the back up staple crops for farmers. It is also a small farmer crop that can be planted in the home garden.

**Response to Reviewers:**

Unlike his Papa, Kunimitsu's Ojiisan had plenty of fathering experience. So he knows the proper way to manage an introverted child. Crowded places are dangerous to small children. Poor kids. Glad everyone liked little Sanada.


	25. Paper Museum

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 25 : Paper Museum**

"You're tilting it too much," Kyouya complained.

Kunimitsu was at the Paper Museum with his classmates. They did not have class. Instead, they will spend the whole day at the museum. Kyouya was his buddy for the day.

Kunimitsu and Kyouya held a big rectangular wooden frame between them. The bottom side was covered with thin mesh. They were dunking the frame into a big tub filled with water and bits of floating things that their teacher said will turn into paper.

Kunimitsu did not see how dirty water can make paper. But Sensei said the paper is swimming inside the water.

They gave the frame one more dunking and lifted it above the water. Then they turned in upside down over a box covered with cloth. The museum man gave them big sponges to mop up the water. When they lifted one corner of the screen, Kyouya crouched down to check.

"Is there paper?" asked Kunimitsu.

"No."

"Let's press harder."

"It's still stuck."

Kunimitsu checked the adults around him. Seeing that they were busy, he climbed on top of the frame. Pressing down with his full weight, the water dripped over the sides.

"It's spilling!" Kyouya ran around mopping up the floor.

Kunimitsu climbed back down. This time, the paper bit came off when they lifted the frame.

They gave their paper to the museum man to dry. Then they grabbed another frame to make a new one. Kyouya picked a smaller square. Kunimitsu got a round one. They went to the smaller tubs that make thick papers. The girls there added flowers and leaves to their paper. There were many children crowded around these tubs because they can add glittering sparkles and colourful threads to their creations.

Kunimitsu all ready knew how it worked. He wanted to know what else he can do with this. He avoided the crowd to find a less popular tub. The last one was unoccupied, except by an ojisan.

He smiled when Kunimitsu stood next to him. "Just wait a minute while I refill the tub," he said.

Kunimitsu watched him take a ladle full of pulpy thing from a pail and plop it into the water. Then he stirred it till the lump disappeared. It was like when Mama cooked miso soup.

He knelt down and peered into the pail. There was two scoopfuls left in it. He poked it. It was soft and paste like, but not sticky like the dough Mama makes.

Kunimitsu gave his frame to the ojisan.

"Eh? Don't you want to dip your frame inside?"

Kunimitsu shook his head. "I want the pail, please. Exchange." He gave the ojisan his serious, responsible face. It usually worked on adults.

The ojisan laughed. "Okay. But you can't put any more pulp inside the tub or it will be too thick."

Kunimitsu nodded.

"And the pail stays here. Don't take it outside."

Kunimitsu nodded again and the ojisan left him with the pail. He dug his hands into the paste-like pulp. It felt a little bit like the clays they play with in the kindergarten. But he could squeeze it to make the water come out. The more water he squeezed, the harder it gets. He nodded to himself and started playing by himself.

When the teacher sent out the last call for the children to send their paper for drying, Kunimitsu had a row of balls and snowmen. He gave them to the oneesan who ran the drying machine. She paused a moment when she saw his neatly arranged rows of highly irregular paper products. Then she laughed and helped him transferred them to a tray so they could fit them inside the machine.

When the last of the pieces were sent to the dryer, they all lined up and moved to the next activity room.

A young docent told them about the story of clay tablets, papyrus and parchment made from animal skins. But those are hard to make and even harder to write on. Clay tablets took 1 to 3 days to write and dry. Papyrus needed to be pounded, then layered piece by piece, one on top of another. Animal skins had to be soaked for 8 days or more to make a single piece of paper.

So, in 105 AD, a Chinese official called Cai Lun invented paper. It was so useful, it spread all over the world. The same kind of paper was still used today. The paper making technique was so easy, all the children had done it themselves.

Kunimitsu raised his hand.

"Yes, Tezuka-kun," said Sensei, signalling the docent to pause for a moment.

He stood up. "Sensei! Paper was invented by China around 100 BCE. In 105 AD, the writing paper making process was made by Cai Lun. He did not invent it. It says so in Papa's encyclopaedia." He bowed and sat back down.

"Eh?" Sensei checked his notes.

The young docent frowned. "You are wrong, Tezuka-kun."

But the curator held his hand up to forestall him. He coughed lightly. "Actually, the little boy is correct. Excavation of a Han Tomb in Xian, China has found paper used for wrapping and padding bronze mirrors dated as early as 2nd century BC. Till now, we do not know who really invented paper. Thank you, young man."

The kids clapped excitedly.

"What's ensaisai, Kunimitsu-kun?" asked Mika-chan.

"En-cy-clo-pae-dia. It's a book of knowledge. It has everything you want to know about anything. Almost everything. But only because my Papa knows more things than the book."

The class ooohh and aaahh with demands to see it and to bring it to class.

Sensei raised her voice and quickly brought the children back to attention. Then, the docent could resume the rest of the show and tell.

"That's an interesting young man you have there."

"Tezuka-kun? Yes. Mostly, he doesn't stand out much."

"Hmm ... they are usually the quiet ones." The curator laughed softly. "We ran the same script for 3 years, for all ages. This is the first time someone pointed out the error. And it is a six year old child! Most kids his age forgot everything by the time they stepped out the door. Somehow, I think your children will remember paper was invented in 100 BC by the Chinese."

Sensei laughed in agreement. No doubt, she would remember it too.

At the end of the day, the children's paper making items were dry and ready for them. Kyouya had picked up their big plain paper. Its edge was frayed and jagged, not at all like the clean white paper they were used to at home. The others had smaller colourful pieces to show off to their friends.

Kunimitsu's paper sculptures came in a little origami box that the dryer oneesan made for him. Because he had the most unusual 'paper', the other children crowded around him and he was obliged to pass the box around for them to see. Then he showed them how to play with his new toys. He lined up the little snowmen. Then used the balls to knock them down.

When Kunimitsu went home, he told his Mama, "We must not waste paper. It is really long to make! We have squeeze and squeeze the water out. It takes many hours to dry!"

* * *

**Note:**  
*INTJs are extremely insightful, and see things that are not obvious to others. They have ability to see patterns and meanings, generate all kinds of possibilities with real world materials. Others may see what is and wonder why; INTJs see what might be and say "Why not?"

**Response to Reviewers:**

**Aoe chan :** Hehe! Encyclopaedia to an NT kid is like candy. Angel egg fanart? Wish I'd seen that one. I wished the Perfect Editions had baby pictures of Tezuka. Sanada and Atobe's were so adorable. *dies of cuteness* Unpaid child labour in cooking is great way to keep kids occupied, if you don't mind a bit of mess.

**Faoiltierna :** Sweet potato is my favourite as a kid. Nice warm dessert/snack.

**Amarie-Chil :** Thanks for pointing it out, I didn't notice he went to bed with a book. He is well on his way to geniusdom. The purpleness in him is strong, it transcend time and space. Hehe!

**Sarang-Ui Mellodi :** My FF email alerts were laggy too. But it looks like it's back to normal now.


	26. Birthday Party Part 1

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 26 : Birthday Party**

By the time it was October, it had been made clear that every boy and girl must have a birthday party. Kunimitsu had been invited to all the parties. Some he attended, some he did not, because it clashed with tennis or judo.

So, when it was his turn to have a birthday, it was all ready autumn and the leaves were gold and orange and yellow.

He didn't really fancy a birthday party. But birthday parties are where the birthday boy gets presents and gives away presents. He liked getting presents. And everyone in class was excited whenever there was a birthday coming. So after dinner, he asked his Mama if he will also have a birthday party like Mika-chan and Kyouya-kun.

His Papa overheard him. Suddenly, he was lifted into the air and plopped down on the dining table with Papa staring at him up and down.

"How old are you?" asked Papa.

"Six!" said Kunimitsu.

"No," said Papa. "You are five."

"Six," insisted Kunimitsu. Five was for K-1 little ones. Kunimitsu was all ready in K-2.

"Five! Five! Five!" Papa hugged and squeezed him.

"Six!" squeaked Kunimitsu.

"Haru-chan," said Mama with that tone Mama used when Kunimitsu was being naughty.

"Five," said Papa sulkily. "Wah! Aya-chan, I don't want Kunimitsu to be six. He is just perfect right now. The right age, the right size." He picked Kunimitsu up in a hug. He pinched Kunimitsu's cheek. "The right amount of cute." He bounced Kunimitsu up and down. "The right weight."

"His birthday is coming on 7th October. He will be six whether you like it or not."

"He is five till 23:59:59.999 and not a millisecond less."

"Now, who is the child?" said Mama really softly. Maybe Kunimitsu was not supposed to hear that.

"Six," said Kunimitsu again. Because he did not want to be the baby in the class.

"See?" said Papa. "Six is not cute."

Mama sighed and put down her wash cloth. "Come, Kunimitsu." She plucked Kunimitsu from his Papa's arms. "Let's see what we have for your birthday party."

"Must we have party?" asked Kunimitsu.

"I supposed we must. We have to give a party for all the nice little boys and girls that invited you to their parties."

"Oh. Must we have clowns?"

"Do you want clowns?"

Kunimitsu shook his head. "No clowns. Noisy."

"Okay, no clowns. You want a magician instead?"

Kunimitsu shook his head. "Is fake. He hid the flowers under a black cardboard inside the hat."

"Right. No magician. Hmm ... what should we have?"

"Balloons! Ice-cream!" said Papa. "Cakes and toys and games!"

"Haru-chan ..."

"I need distractions from the horrible horrible thought Kunimitsu is going to turn into an incurable six-year-old overnight."

"He was born at 2:46 pm. Afternoon, not overnight."

"Good! He will be five till 2:45.59.999 pm. Papa says so."

Ayana sighed again. "Let's have your birthday at 3:30. Your Papa can have 44 minutes to freak out and get his head back together properly."

"Okay," said Kunimitsu.

"Now, what games would you like?"

"Can we play tennis? Shogi? Judo!"

There was a heavy thud.

"Haru-chan, what are you doing on the floor?"

"It's a curse, Ayana! When did we have the most boring kid on the planet? Who the heck wants to play shogi on their birthday? Six is a curse!"

"Haru-chan," said Mama in that sweet sweet tone laced with steel. "Behave yourself or else ..."

"No tennis. No shogi. No judo!" muttered Papa. "He is not turning into my father."

"Kunimitsu, maybe these games are not suitable. We don't have a tennis court and the other children don't know how to play shogi or judo."

Kunimitsu frowned.

"How about a treasure hunt adventure? We can have obstacle course."

"Treasure?" said Kunimitsu.

"Yes. And crawling through tunnels and climbing and presents. Kunimitsu can help Papa make the obstacle course, okay?"

"Then ... it won't be fair." Kunimitsu paused a moment to think. "I can give away presents?"

"Yes, you can give away presents."

"I know all answers and I give away presents." He could try everything out first before everyone came. He liked that more than playing. "Okay, I not play."

"Good boy."

That night, Tezuka Kuniharu called up his best friend, Harada.

"Tezuka! I just fell asleep after a 5-hour triple bypass open heart surgery. This better be important."

"It's life and death!" said Kuniharu. "You have to come help me with Kunimitsu's birthday party."

"You ... want me ... to go to ... a kid's ... birthday party?"

"Yes."

"I'm sure there's a reason why I don't get married. And I don't knock up a nurse ... let me see. Oh, yes! I don't like kids, remember? I'm allergic to them."

"You like Kunimitsu. Right? Right? You have to help save him!"

"How exactly is he dying from a birthday party?"

"He is turning into three letter S-word."

There was a prolonged pause. "We're still talking about your kid, right?"

"Of course!"

"He's too young for that kind of thing."

"What thing?"

"The three letter S-word, X-rated thing."

"Eh? Eeeeh! Get your head out of the gutter, you horny old goat!"

In the background, Harada could hear Ayana's voice, "Haru-chan ..."

"Nothing, Dear," sang Kuniharu. In a quieter voice, he hissed, "Kunimitsu is going to be SIX!"

"Yes. Congratulations. It means you are 1/3 of the way there. In another 12 years, you can kick him out of the house and can take vacations that don't fall on horribly crowded over-priced school breaks."

That gave Kuniharu pause, trying to imagine his tiny Kunimitsu as 18-year-old. Teenage rebellion, hormones, mood swings, girls! "Aarrrgh!" His brain melted from imagination overload. "No girls! No hormones! No dating till eighty!"

"Huh?"

"Look, you have to come and, you know, liven things up."

"No! Wouldn't touch anything under 21 with a 10-foot pole."

"It's for Kunimitsu."

"Well, Kunimitsu-kun is all right. He can speak under 70 decibels. He is reasonable and can carry an intelligent conversation. He does not use words that do not have human definition in 6000 languages."

"Good. 7 October, 3:30 pm. Don't forget!"

"I'm bringing an extra long tripod, in case I need to fend off one of those monsters under 4 feet tall."

"Bring whatever you want. I'll stock up aspirin and anti-histamines, just for you."

"Just shoot me all ready," groaned Harada.

* * *

**Notes:**

* Normal conversation (3-5') is 60-70dB.

* Telephone dial tone is 80dB.

* Level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss is 90 – 95dB.

* Pain begins 125dB.

**Responses to Reviewers:**

Wow! I didn't expect so many reviews on Paper Museum. Thank you! *heart*

As Megumi reminded me (Thank you, Megumi!), it's 1 year anniversary of AoYTK. 25 Chapters, 55k words! I never thought I'd last this long. Thank you everyone, for your support!

Here's a special 2 parter on Kunimitsu's birthday, freshly written at work today. Shhh! So, Grandfather bonding, Sanada family, learning/world history, school trip, correcting teacher, birthday. That should cover everything. Let me know if I missed anything.

Oh yeah, no tennis chapter for six-year-old range! :P

Aoe chan : I haven't seen any clip of Tezuka in elementary school in Another Story. But there's a clip of him (Grade 6) in Tezuka vs Sanada OVA. He is one stylish kid. "Snow bowling Kunimitsu style"! Hehehe!

Amarie-Chil : Hehe! If you go back several chapters, you'd notice different people thinks of Tezuka's age differently. Baby thinks he is six. Papa thinks five. Mama is most accurate at five and half.


	27. Birthday Party Part 2

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 27 : Birthday Party Part 2**

Kunimitsu climbed up his Papa's side of the bed. Then he carefully sat on his Papa, staring unblinkingly at his Papa's sleeping face.

Papa groaned and opened his eyes. "Who are you?"

"Kunimitsu!"

"No. You are not Kunimitsu. My Kunimitsu is a sweet little boy who don't sit on his Papa when he is having a good dream in the middle of the night."

"It is Kunimitsu! It is morning!"

"No. You can't fool me. My Kunimitsu knows how to look outside to see if the sun has come up."

"Ojiisan is up. It is morning."

"Papa is not up. It is not morning."

"Kunimitsu is up. It is morning."

"You are not Kunimitsu. It is not morning."

"Mama!"

Ayana gave her husband a pointed look.

"This is not Kunimitsu. This is the world's most not cute alarm clock. Six exactly every single day. Even weekends."

"Kunimitsu is Kunimitsu," protested the little boy.

Ayana pulled Kunimitsu to her side. "Happy birthday, Kunimitsu." She hugged him and kissed his forehead.

"Good morning, Mama. Kunimitsu is good boy?"

"Yes, Kunimitsu is good boy."

Kunimitsu crowed triumphantly, "Mama said I is Kunimitsu!"

"Go brush your teeth."

Kunimitsu clambered down again and pattered out.

"Don't give your son mental trauma on his birthday," chided Ayana.

"He is a big boy. He can take a joke."

"He is six years old, not sixteen. Besides, since Kunimitsu started waking you up, you've never been late for work."

Kuniharu groaned and pulled his blanket over his head. "I swear his cunning Ojiisan is trying to torture me. It revenge for years of trying to raise me."

When Kuniharu came down, Kunimitsu was seated opposite Kunikazu with a wooden goban between them.

"Papa! Ojiisan is teaching Kunimitsu Go for birthday present. Kunimitsu can play Go! Black and white!"

"Which one is Kunimitsu?" Kuniharu sat beside Kunimitsu on the tatami.

"Black." Kunimitsu pointed to the squiggly line of black stones on the full sized goban. His grandfather had taped off three-quarters of the board to make a beginner's 9x9 board.

"Hmm ... we have a grave situation, General." Kuniharu pointed to the surrounding white stones hemming Kunimitsu's black.

"We are getting eaten," whispered Kunimitsu.

"Yes, we are."

"What do we do?"

"Well, General, we have to send a ninja squad to save our soldiers. Are you ready?"

Kunimitsu stabbed two fingers inside his goke bowl to pick a stone and came out empty.

"Like this," said Ojiisan. He opened his hand, then placed his middle finger on top of his index finger. He elegantly inserted the two fingers into his bowl and extracted out a white stone held just at the tips.

Kunimitsu put his right hand into his black goke and took out one. He imitated Ojiisan's fingers with his left hand, but ended up with two fingers pressed side by side. He pushed the stone between his fingers. It wobbled then dropped to the floor with a click.

"Try again. One on top of the other." Ojiisan corrected his fingers.

"Like chopstick," said Papa. He placed a black stone half on Kunimitsu's index fingernail and the bottom pad of his middle finger. It stayed on this time. "Now, put it on the cross."

Kunimitsu watched the stone carefully as he extended his hand over the goban. His right hand clamped onto his left forearm to keep his fingers steady.

"Put the tip on the position you want," said Ojiisan. "Gently push the stone with middle finger so it slips completely on the board."

Kunimitsu had one tip of the stone on the + part of the grid. When he tried to push and let go, it wobbled and dropped off to the side. He used his finger to nudged the stone around until he manoeuvred it into the position he wanted, slipping it between two white stones.

Papa laughed. "I hope you don't park the car like that when you grow up." He ruffled Kunimitsu's hair and went off to start his own preparations for the party.

Kunimitsu wandered into the garden as Kuniharu was setting up a kiddie pool. Kunimitsu climbed on the wall that his Papa was inflating with a foot pump. The pump mouth popped out from the added pressure and air hissed out. Kunimitsu jumped on the still inflated parts for good measure to flatten them.

"Kunimitsu!"

Kunimitsu looked up innocently at his Papa.

Kuniharu sighed. "Come here." He picked up a coil of old climbing rope and gave it to Kunimitsu. "Help Papa make knotted rope." He tied a knot at the end of the rope. Then he measured the length on Kunimitsu's forearm. "Tie another knot here." He tied the second knot. "Make twenty, okay?"

Kunimitsu nodded. When the pool was ready, Kunimitsu had forgotten about counting and had 5 metres of the rope knotted up.

Kuniharu exchanged the rope with two large boxes of balls. Some were Kunimitsu's old tennis balls, most were plastic and rubber balls. "Put these inside the pool." Kunimitsu eagerly took the balls. In a few minutes, he was rolling and tumbling around in the home made ball pit.

Kuniharu took the knotted rope and tied it to a head-high spreading branch. Then he made Kunimitsu climb up the rope and hang off it while he tightened and adjusted the rope.

Then, Kuniharu hoisted the boy up on his shoulder. He bent down to take a box full of apples. Ayana had tied the stems with sewing threads. Kuniharu gave the thread end to Kunimitsu to tie on the branch. A good tug would break the stem or the thread. Ayana was right to make extra apples. Kunimitsu had pulled off three apples in the process of tying them up.

When they done, they went over to Kunikazu's work area. He had glued thick Styrofoam to a round thick cardboard. Kunikazu gave a bag of white feathers to Kunimitsu, showing him how to stick the feathers by their quills into the styrofoam.

Kuniharu went to set up the stand. He was still hammering out a wooden frame when Harada showed up at 2 pm to help with preparations. He was immediately introduced to the rest of the family. Harada flirted and complimented Ayana outrageously in front of her husband, going so far as to bend chivalrously over her hand to kiss it in western fashion. Kuniharu, in a sudden fit of possessiveness, dragged him out to the garden by his ear. It took a while for Harada to stop laughing at Kuniharu's uncharacteristic jealousy.

Finally, everything was done and ready. The food smelt wonderful and was arranged artfully around the dining table. Kunimitsu had played, not to his heart's content, but at least quite a good bit. He had to be dragged off to be bathed and dressed up. By 3:30 pm, the guests started to arrive.

"Tezuka! You didn't say the _parents _are going to be here!" hissed Harada urgently.

"The kids are all fives and sixes. You think their parents are going to let them attend birthday parties on their own?"

"Do you know what is worse than kids with 150 dB shriek? It is their meddlesome matchmaking mothers! You did not mention I'm a doctor, right?"

"No."

"And that I'm single."

"Not a word."

"Okay, okay. I might still survive this. Remember, those are super top secret information. If you have to introduce me, I'm freelance photographer and homo. That usually translate to unemployed bum and someone you don't invite to tea."

"You can't say you're gay. If the parents get offended and leave, my wife will kill me."

Suddenly, Kunimitsu childish voice broke through the hum of conversation. "Then Harada-san put plaster on my hands. Papa said he is a doctor in Keio University Hospital so he knows how to do it properly. And he cut people open everyday so he can cut mushrooms really neat. Mama can cut mushrooms and vegetables all pretty and neat. Maybe Mama can cut people open and make them better too."

The adults laughed and pat him on the head. Several female heads swivelled towards Harada speculatively.

"Save me!" squeaked Harada.

"You can help me start the treasure hunt."

"Noo! Not the kids."

"The kids or the mothers. Your choice."

"..."

Kuniharu raised his voice above the general shrieks and laughter. "Children! It's time to start the Hunt for the Choco Gold. Come! Follow Captain Haru to the veranda. Arr!" He raised his plastic cutlass and marched out of the living room. The children rushed after him, hopping and skipping with excitement.

Kunikazu simply blinked at the sudden exodus of loud small bodies before turning back to carry on polite conversation with their fathers.

Deprived of the need for constant attention from their children, the mothers refocused their gazes on Harada. He could practically hear the thoughts in their minds.

_Doctor eh? Surgeon in Keio! He's not wearing a ring, and he didn't come with a date. He must be single and available. We must introduce him to -insert single female relative or friend-. It's practically a sin for a fine specimen to be unmarried. Obviously, he only needs the right woman to show him the error of his ways. We can hear wedding bells all ready. And before long, he would be knee deep in cute little (screaming monster) toddlers of his own. And they will live happily ever after._

He cast around desperately. Kuniharu was hip deep in cute little preschoolers. His game instructions was punctuated with little jigs and 'arr!' and enthusiastic chorus of childish voices.

Kunimitsu was standing by the side, holding a box with rolled up papers and ribbons. He had a rakish tricorne pirate hat on his head. Harada immediately latched on to Kunimitsu before the women could converge on to him.

"Kunimitsu-kun, smile for Ojisan!" He grabbed his camera and snapped few pictures of Kunimitsu, head cocked curiously. His smile non-existent and his face serious and impassive. "Wah! Tezuka is right. You really can't smile for no reason. Say '_niiiii_'." He tried a few close ups.

That's it. He would hide behind his SLR camera for the rest of the day. He carefully skirted the seething mass of small bodies to climb on a stool. The shouts were deafening.

On the veranda, Kuniharu had finished the headcount of 20 children and arranged them into four groups of five. Next, he introduced his assistant, First Mate Kunimitsu. First Mate Kunimitsu went to each Group Captain to give them their ribbons. Captain Blue got 5 blue ribbons to tie on hair, around foreheads or as armband. He was followed by Captains Red, Green and Yellow with their team colours.

Then, Captain Blue was given his treasure map and instructions. Their first quest was to pluck a blue feather from a spinning wheel full of white feathers. Second quest was to climb up a knotted rope and pluck an apple tied to the tree branch above. Third quest involves cramming 5 kids into a pool filled with playpen balls to find a square blue box.

Fourth quest had all the children crawling on their hands and knees into a long twisty tunnel made of stools with their legs tied together and covered with thick black cloth. In the fifth quest, they had to pop balloons till they found a key. The girls stood aside and covered their ears. The boys went at it with gusto, stomping and chasing after the balloons. Even after they found the key, they went ahead to pop all the balloons. Then they used the key to open their blue box to reveal a 10-piece jigsaw puzzle. When the completed their jigsaw puzzle, their time was noted down in a white board.

Kuniharu was having the time of his life. He led cheers and shouted encouragements. He ran from one quest to the next, supervising the current team. Kunimitsu stood at the finish line with a stopwatch to time each team. Harada perched on stools and climbed trees to get pictures of the kids, and more importantly, to avoid their mothers.

When all the teams had completed their quests, Kuniharu unveiled the Choco Gold Treasure Chest. It had 4 dramatic big padlock that needed to be opened by each Captain with the keys they had won. When the top was thrown open, it billowed smoke and was full of shiny gold coins. Kunimitsu gave away the presents to each team from the chest. And each child gets a small treasure box full of chocolate gold coins and shiny gem-shaped hard candies. Then, the bottom layer revealed tubs ice-cream and popsicle sticks. Enough to feed each kid thrice over.

The treasure hunt ended with a garden strewn with little children licking ice-cream and in various state of messy sweaty sweet stickiness. Some climbed up the rope and turned it into impromptu swing. Some parked themselves in the ball pool. Feathers and balloons became instruments of torture. Balls were bounced, kicked, hit, tossed, bowled and chased. The boys had set up a contest corner from blowing up balloons to eating ice-cream.

The more innovative ones had split the chair tunnel into several pieces. They built a game of tag around the tunnels, chasing each other in, out and over the chairs. It was complete chaotic fun. Instead of scolding them, like most adults, Kuniharu happily joined in, even contributing a few ideas himself.

As the party drew to a close, it was a test of patience and parenting skills to get the children to go home. For some, it was a test of stamina and speed as they chased down their sugar high children who were having too much fun and refused to leave.

When Kyouya bid him goodbye, he told Kunimitsu, "Your Papa is the coolest Papa!"

Kunimitsu thought, despite the occasional exasperating oddity, his Papa _was _the coolest Papa ever.

* * *

**Notes:**  
**Go** aka weiqi. An ancient Chinese board game. Played by two players alternately placing black and white stones on the vacant intersections of 19×19 grid lines.  
**Goban** = Go board. Full grid is 19x19. But there are smaller teaching grids, 9x9 and 13x13.  
**Goke** = bowl to hold Go stones.  
**Goshi**= Go stone.

(Kuniharu) **ENTP as parents**, extracted from personalitypage website : _With their fun and upbeat natures, there's a little bit of kid inside all ENTPs. They approach parenthood with a fun-loving attitude which has a serious underlying goal: to make everything a learning exercise (for themselves as well as for their children) which promotes the child's growth into an independent, logical thinker. _

_The ENTP is likely to be somewhat inconsistent about spending quality time with their children. One minute they will exhibit a lot of interest and enthusiasm towards being around their kids, and will display a great deal of affection for them. However, as soon as they get caught-up in one of their grand schemes somewhere, they're likely to inadvertently neglect their kids. _

* * *

**Responses to reviewers:**

Wow! AoYTK just hit 90s. For a story that is much ado about nothing, I'm ridiculously happy.

Thank you, my 4 regular reviewers that had stayed with me so far. Welcome to new reviewers who just joined in. I'm flabbergasted an1me05 read all 26 chapters 56k words (!) straight.


	28. First day of Elementary School

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 28 : First day of Elementary School**

Kunimitsu tugged the collar of his buttoned up shirt. It was first day of Kunimitsu's new school.

Kunimitsu had to bid farewell to his kindergarten classmates before the Spring break. They had a graduation ceremony and Kunimitsu had to wear a long blue robe and square cardboard hat. He even had to make a speech that his teacher wrote and his Mama helped him to memorise.

When it was over, everyone said goodbye to their favourite friends and told each other which new schools they were going to. Kyouya and many other students were going to other schools. Mika-chan and two other students were going to the same school as him.

In a few short weeks, he was in Year 1, Class 1-1 of Seiharu Daiichi Elementary School. He had new uniforms. White short sleeved shirt with knee-length dark blue shorts. The school crest and his name sewn on the left pocket. Matching dark blue blazer to go on top of everything. He had new white shoes and socks too.

Mama said he was growing so fast, he outgrew everything overnight. She said it with that teasing smile while Kunimitsu watched her sew coloured labels and ironed school patches on his new clothes. He even had a new school bag that Mama had to sew his name on. So that Kunimitsu would know that it was his and remember. He did not remember he had a new school bag though. He was too busy watching Mama sew. He climbed into her lap so he could get a closer look. The needle poke in and out. The thread followed the needle, going round and round. He thought sewing was a clever idea. It was only a thin thread, but it holds two pieces together stronger than glue. And the thread made a pattern on the two pieces too.

On Orientation Day, Mama held his left hand as they walked a new route to Kunimitsu's new school. Papa held his new school bag on one hand. He held Kunimitsu's right hand in the other. Sometimes, Kunimitsu swung himself between them and let them carry him a few steps. There were other little boys and girls too, walking with their Mama and Papa. They were all First Years. The older children walked with their friends or even by themselves.

When they arrived at the school, Kunimitsu lined up to take pictures at the school gate. Then, they were ushered into school hall by a line of Year 6 students. It was a much larger school than Kunimitsu's kindergarten. The students were much bigger too. Some were almost as tall as his Mama. He held his parents' hands tightly.

Inside the school hall, the children were separated from their parents and sent to the front seats. He held on firmly and didn't want to let go. Mama knelt down and patted his back soothingly.

"It's okay," she said. "Papa and I will sit right there, on the front row for the parents. You can see us if you turn your head."

Kunimitsu looked back and forth across the open expanse between his seat and his parents. It was filled with chaotic jumble of adults and older students. The corner of his mouth turned downwards. He did not like the idea at all.

'_He needs warm up time,' _Mama mouthed quietly at Papa. She was all too familiar with Kunimitsu's idiosyncrasies, including his need to for time to observe and familiarise with new environment before he was ready to participate in it. She turned to Kunimitsu and said loudly, "Now, Papa will go sit on the parents' side. We will stay here and watch Papa go to his seat. See, Papa is a big brave boy."

When Papa seated himself, he waved wildly to Kunimitsu. Only, it made Kunimitsu want to go to Papa instead of the other side.

"It's Kunimitsu's turn. Now, brave Kunimitsu will go to his seat."

Kunimitsu shook his head. He did not see why he should sit away from his parents when they were going to be in the same room anyway.

Next to them, another child started crying. "Mika!" they heard a frustrated mother exclaimed.

"Mika-chan. Tamaguchi-san." Mama turned around and greeted the new comers. "Kunimitsu, look Mika-chan is here. I'm sure Mika-chan would like a strong brave boy like Kunimitsu to sit with her,"

Kunimitsu looked at Mika-chan a moment, from her teary eyes and timid face. He was reluctant to go away from his Mama and sit with strangers. He understood Mika-chan feelings. But if Mika-chan had a friend to go with her, she might not be so anxious.

"Let's sit together," he said. He held out his hand for Mika-chan to hold. And they both walked obediently to their places.

"Thank you, Tezuka-san!" said Mika-chan's mother with obvious relief.

"I should thank you, Tamaguchi-san. Little boys just need the right kind of motivations."

There were speeches. From the principal to the Year-1 head teacher to the Year-6 Student Council President. Then, there were roll calls. Each name was called one by one. When Kunimitsu's name came up, he stood up and walked to the front. A 6th Year girl also came forward and pinned his name badge on his shirt.

"Hello, Tezuka-kun," she said.

"Yanagi-san!" said Kunimitsu surprised.

"Welcome to Seiharu Daiichi. I will be your mentor for this year." She winked mischievously at Kunimitsu. "I have to swap three cleaning assignments to get you. Come, it's time for the school tour."

Yanagi Reiko led Kunimitsu out of the big hall.

"Yanagi-san's brother?" asked Kunimitsu, craning his head around to look for Renji.

Reiko laughed. "He doesn't want to go to a school with no tennis club and be the tensai Reiko's cute otouto-chan. So, you, lucky boy, are my new otouto-chan."

"Yanagi-san play tennis too."

"Yes, but I can play tennis outside school. This school has the best Maths program and best Maths Club. I'm going to be on the National Olympiad Maths team this year."

She showed him the track fields, basketball courts, baseball diamond and swimming pool. Then, they went indoors and picked a shoe shelf space. Yanagi pasted a sticker with his name on it to mark his spot while he changed from outdoor to indoor shoes. They went to the cafeteria, restrooms, teachers' room, library, music room, art room, labs and indoor gym. Finally, she brought him to his classroom. His Papa and Mama were all ready there, waiting for him at the back. Mika-chan was also there.

Yanagi-san stuck another sticker on a cubby space at the back of the room. She declared it his territory. Then, she patted him on the head and left him to his parents and teacher.

Kunimitsu peered into his cubby. Papa had put his bag inside. But there were other things in it too. Mama helped him take them out. He examined the bright yellow helmet, plastic whistle and a box of stationery.

When all the students had arrived, the homeroom teacher introduced himself and called the class to order. He went through each item that the children got in their cubby holes. He showed them how to wear their helmets and told them to wear it when walking to and from school. Whistle to call for help if they got into trouble. There were pencils and erasers and how to use sharpeners. There were even water-colours, palette, brushes and the more familiar colour pencils.

He toyed with his calligraphy set, made up of brush, inkpot, inkwell and notebook with special rice paper. He had seen Ojiisan used them, only they were bigger and more elaborate versions. Ojiisan even used rolled up scrolls of paper, not a notebook like Kunimitsu's. Instead of a bottle of ink, Ojiisan used a block of black ink stick that he rubbed over and over on his inkstone. But Kunimitsu liked his small child-sized things. It meant he was old enough for another Ojiisan activity.

Finally, one of the parents helped carry a box while the teacher went around the room to distribute a stack of textbooks for the year. Mama went through the books and class schedules with Kunimitsu together to help him understand which books he would need for which days of the week. Then, they were done and sent outside for traffic safety lessons.

There were traffic policemen outside, in their smart blue uniforms and big white motorcycles. There were road crossing and traffic safety demonstrations, with zebra crossing, portable traffic lights and crossing guards for the children to take part and practise.

After all the serious safety business had been taken care of, the children were released for fun and play. Some started games of tag, soccer and basketball. There were even supervised archery with miniature bow and arrows.

Unlike most children, Kunimitsu stood at the side, watching the others dispersed into all directions. Suddenly, he felt himself grabbed from behind and lifted. Instinct kicked in as he readjusted his weight, grabbed the hand under his arm and turned sharply.

A large blue shape flipped and landed at his feet. Behind him, a voice laughed and hands clapped. "Told you so. You can't catch a Tezuka unawares."

"Ikeda-san!" Kunimitsu was surprised to find a police officer lying at his feet. "Saitou-san." He addressed the other police officer who spoke.

"Hello, Kunimitsu," said Saitou. "You still remember us."

"Sorry for surprising you," apologised Ikeda.

Kunimitsu nodded. "Saitou-san and Ikeda-san missed practice for ... for ... since last summer." Indeed, Kunimitsu had noticed that there were twenty missing students in his judo class in the police dojo. Ojiisan said there would be more new students coming in soon.

"Yes," said Ikeda. "We are real police officers now. No more trainees." Ikeda showed off his new shiny badge.

"Hey, aren't we the lucky ones. We get assigned to Kunimitsu's district," said Saitou, roughing Kunimitsu's hair.

Ikeda cupped his hand over Kunimitsu's ear and whispered, "If Ojiisan-sensei decides to take a walk, just give us a warning call at the station. We'll make sure the koban is clean and neat and ready for a surprise visit."

"Kunimitsu?" Mama and Papa were walking towards Kunimitsu and the two officers.

Both men immediately snapped to attention. They bowed in tandem as Kunimitsu's parents reached them.

"Tezuka-san." Saitou recognised Kunimitsu's Mama, who had accompanied him to Ojiisan's office building a few times.

"We were Tezuka-sensei's students," Ikeda added after they introduced themselves.

Both of them looked anxiously at Papa, wondering if he was anything like Ojiisan. Papa was still wearing his serious working Papa face. The one that looked like he could see right through anyone and read all their little secrets. Ikeda was very conscious of his less than pristine uniform after that short tumble on the ground.

Papa let them squirm a little before he winked and broke into a big smile. "Hello, Kunimitsu's friends." He shook their hands warmly.

"If it's all right with you, sir," said Saitou sheepishly, "we would like to give Kunimitsu a ride on the motorcycle."

"Just around the parking lot," added Ikeda.

"Hmm ...," said Papa, looking side long at Mama. Mama gave him an almost invisible nod. "With one condition." He whipped out his camera. "You have to take pictures with him!"

Saitou whooped!

"Don't throw me again, Kunimitsu," said Ikeda. He hoisted Kunimitsu onto his bike.

Saitou plopped a peaked police hat over Kunimitsu's head. The traffic police crest was blinding silver in the morning sun.

Papa took many pictures. "All right, everyone. Give me your best Ojiisan-sensei stare! Wow! I feel like I'm about to be eaten alive."

Mama lightly smacked Papa on the arm for making fun of Ojiisan.

In a few short minutes, Kunimitsu was paraded around the open space. He was seated high on the front, turning the switches on and off. Siren whined, lights flashed. By the first round, Kunimitsu had figured what most switches do: high-beam, low-beam, blinking signal lights, tail-lights, brake lights, hazard lights, red-blue emergency lights, and even the little whirling red-alert light mounted on the antenna at the back. By the second round, he had figured the combination to turn on the most gaudy light show and the loudest siren.

When Ikeda handed him back to his parents, there was a long line of excited children waiting to be taken on rides.

Papa laughed and patted the two young officers. "Kids!" he remarked to Mama in amusement. Kunimitsu knew he wasn't referring to the little 7-year-old kind of kids.

The next day, a 6th Year student and a PE teacher paid him a visit. They gave him a form to fill in and a sheaf of papers to give his parents. From that week, every Tuesday afternoon, Kunimitsu attended Judo Club as their youngest regular member.

* * *

Sorry for the late late late update. RL decided to crash everything in a short month and a half. House-hunting, moving, parental visit/inspection, exam, work project delays and last minute rush. Next one will probably be at least two weeks from now.

AYoTK has crossed the 100th Review. **Throws confetti** And looks like there's another post-National PoT OVA in the works. Something about Wimbledon.

Have problems uploading chapter file today. So, if you have the same problem, try using your existing document in Document Manager. Clear the text in the Edit/Preview. Copy and paste your new chapter.

**celtic27fionn** : Thank you for your reviews. Glad you enjoyed the stories.

**Aoe chan** : Congrats on snagging the 100th! *\o/* Thank you so much. I put a lot of effort to get the facts right and Tezuka in-character. So it's nice hear it from my readers. Yes, poor Ayana. She's the perfect parent, so she's less likely to mess up with entertaining result. We will see more of her again in the next stage of Tezuka development.

**Shanu**, **an1me05** : Thanks.

**Amarie-Chil** : Yeah, poor Kuniharu is an alien Tezuka. Grandpa is such a serious educator, isn't he? :D Kid-logic are fun and mind-boggling. Hehe! Baby Tezuka probably don't even care about the presents. He had more fun playing with the wrapping paper and boxes. ;)

**littlemissrosy** : Thank you. I actually started because I missed studying for Developmental Psych. Manual to Tezuka's character? *blushes* I'm happy to hear it sounds realistic and good read. Please let me know if I made a mistake. I don't have anyone to proof-read, so sometimes, I missed a few of them.

**Faoiltierna** : Tezuka-papa would probably sleep late every day without his walking alarm clock. I could plan and prep your party, as long as you don't invite me to it. I'm an even bigger recluse than Tezuka. :D


	29. Farewell, Hokage senpai  Part 1

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 29: Farewell, Hokage-senpai - Part 1**

With a new Spring, tennis season began again. Kunimitsu had improved much of his skill in the past year. He had even overtaken Akira in last year's club tournament to win the gold medal. Within the class, he was beginning to garner a reputation for his backhands and drop shots.

Yet, despite his best efforts, Hokage-senpai still remained out of his reach. And now, Kunimitsu might no longer have a chance to win a game from him. On the first day of tennis class, coach announced that Hokage-senpai was leaving them in three months. Kunimitsu was not a happy boy when he went home.

He practised hard in class. And went home to practise even harder. He ran longer and longer. Until the usual school PE warm ups were no longer enough to make him break sweat. The track and fields teacher began to eye him for long distance marathons, to the consternation of his Judo coach. His stamina seemed inexhaustible. He could stay on the Judo mat longer than anyone his age during randori. While the other children his age were practising _ukemi_and basic throw techniques, his Judo club coach had been pairing him with bigger and better boys. His ojiisan even let him take his belt exam and he had been promoted to 5-kyu white belt.

Kunimitsu was growing and changing. He was losing baby fat and gaining weight in muscles and bones. Even Mama was surprised to find that his shorts were getting too short and his ankles were poking out of his long pants. His clothes needed to be changed again. She couldn't carry him for more than 30 minutes now, not that he wanted to be carried any more. He was even getting too self-conscious to sit on her lap.

When Kunimitsu thought of his personal hurdle in the form of Hokage-senpai, he knew weekly tennis classes were no longer enough. Kunimitsu went to Yanagi-san for advice. Yanagi-san introduced tennis manuals to Kunimitsu. There weren't any tennis books in the school library, so Yanagi-san took him to the book stores to show him what tennis books were. He did not have any money to buy them. But she lent him some of hers that she thought could help him. She picked the ones with lots of picture and easy words. Kunimitsu's vocabulary was still limited and tennis books were notoriously filled with foreign words.

With Yanagi-san's help, Kunimitsu began to learn many advanced aspects of tennis. From speed to power, from stamina to stature, from technique to strategy, from spin to bounce. She timed his sprints. She put numbered markers on the court and made him dash from point to point randomly. Running laps to build stamina was all fine. But tennis games, especially intense ones, required short bursts of speed and quick stops. The kind of situation that would easily break a runner's pace. Building stamina was good for keeping himself from tiring before the end of match. But it did not help to get him where he needed to be in time to reach the ball.

Then, she measured his weight and height and made him push against the machines in the school gym. She told him flat out, despite be a strong kid, he would never be a power player. His scrawny frame and genes were against him. But he should still build enough muscle strength to prevent himself from being overpowered by the heavier players. Then, he should use his superior technique and brain power to win him points.

Tennis was as much a mental game as a physical one. That meant he had to stop playing tennis like a stubborn dumb mule and play more like an intelligent kitsune. That left him scratching his head all the way home trying to figure out what she meant. He did learn the differences when he grew up a little more. But he never completely break his old habit, occasionally of playing like a stubborn dumb mule. Sometimes, he played like both and he did not know if he was being wise or just stubborn.

During tennis class, Yanagi-san made Kunimitsu watch each of Hokage-senpai's matches. He even had to observe his stroke practices and everything else that Hokage-senpai did in class. Then, she would quiz Kunimitsu. What was Hokage-senpai's frame of mind at a match? Was he tired, motivated, angry, playful, vindictive, bored, experimenting or trying to learning some new trick?

They were hard things for Kunimitsu to learn. Sometimes, he felt really stupid because he didn't know anything at all. He did not know what Hokage-senpai was feeling or thinking. If Yanagi-san asked what his Mama was feeling or thinking, Kunimitsu could tell her.

He knew all his Mama's moods. From the way the line between her eyebrows appeared when she was angry to the way her lips twitch and her eyes light up when she was happy. She hummed when she liked what she was doing, like cooking and hanging laundry. She muttered things Kunimitsu could not decipher when she did not like what she was doing, like when Papa or Kunimitsu messed up her spotless kitchen.

The tone in Mama's voice changed when she knew Kunimitsu was thinking naughty things and he better not do whatever he was thinking. When Mama said 'Kunimitsu!' in that sharp tone, it meant Kunimitsu should stop whatever he was doing. But when Mama said 'Kunimitsu' all soft and warm, it meant she forgive him. And if Mama said 'Tezuka Kunimitsu!', it meant he was in big big trouble. But when Mama kept her face expressionless or innocent and smiling sweetly, it meant she was 'up to no good' in Papa's words. She would be teasing Kunimitsu or Papa with a few choice words.

He wondered if he had to live with Hokage-senpai to know him as well as he knew his Mama. But he did not want to live with Hokage-senpai, because he would miss his Mama and Papa and Ojiisan. He was sure Hokage-senpai cannot make bento as tasty as his Mama's with all his favourite things.

Then, the next lesson, Yanagi-san asked him how fast was the ball, where would it land, how is the spin, how would it bounce? He could not judge how the ball would behave based on the player's position, racquet speed, angle and where on the racquet face the ball touched. Sometimes, after watching hundreds of rallies, he thought he could feel it. Instinctively, he knew what happened to the ball and where the ball was going. But it felt like a dream. After that, he tried to think what he learned, but he did not understand why or how. He finally concluded he did not know anything after all.

Still, he worked hard. Building stamina, building strength, building reflexes, making sure his strokes were perfect and his form was good and clean. At last he felt he was ready. He was also running out of time.

So it was at the beginning of summer, a week before Hokage-senpai was to leave Tokyo, Kunimitsu asked him for a match.

* * *

**Note:**  
Ukemi - break fall  
Kitsune (fox or fox-spirit) are believed to possess superior intelligence, long life, and magical powers. The term _spirit_is used to reflect a state of knowledge or enlightenment, not ghost/monsters.

**Responses to Reviews:**

It's been more than a month since last update. Terribly sorry about that. May and June had been/are crazy months with unexpected unfortunate crises. But good news is, most are over. And amidst all that chaos, RL upsets and stress, I've even passed the exam that had been casting a huge shadow over me since February.

Anyway, this year-stage is back to tennis focus, at least for the planned plot milestones. Thank you and welcome to all the new readers who faved and/or alert this story.

**Aoe chan :** Aww … I missed his baby talk too. But baby has to grow up. Tezuka in judo club seems like a natural progression, since he is more intensively trained as judoka than tennis player at this stage.

**Dimonyo-anghel**** : **Hehe … Tezuka is still an over achiever, whatever activities he took up.

**Amarie-Chil **: Sorry for the even longer delay. I'm out of pre-written chapters and in a write-on-stolen-moments-publish-poste-haste kind of mode now. Hehe, even at 14, Tezuka still doesn't know how to speak to a girl. :D

**Faoiltierna**: Thanks for the lovely compliment. Totally worth the hours trolling expats in Japan blogs. :D Yep, Yanagi-san's brother has a date with destiny. ;)

**uchiha fan**: All 28 chapters? More than a year's worth of text? Wow! I hope you're feeling better now. Thank you for reading. I'm happy to hear from a new reader.

**Sh4dee**: Thanks! Stay tuned for more.


	30. Farewell, Hokage senpai Part 2

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu  
Chapter 30: Farewell, Hokage-senpai Part 2**

Kunimitsu stood in the service box waiting for Hokage-senpai to serve the first point.

It was a Sunday morning. Hokage-senpai had came by Kunimitsu's house to pick him up on his bicycle. Kunimitsu had asked his Mama's permission to go out by himself, but Mama said no. Kunimitsu must be accompanied outside the house. So Kunimitsu asked if it was okay if he went with Hokage-senpai. That was why Hokage-senpai had to come to his house. Kunimitsu wished he would grow up faster so he could go out by himself on a shiny bicycle like Hokage-senpai.

Mama was surprised Kunimitsu was so friendly with Hokage-senpai. But she let Kunimitsu go when Hokage-senpai told her they were just going to a tennis court by the park two streets down from Kunimitsu's house. She made Hokage-senpai promised to have Kunimitsu back before lunch time.

"Mittsu, you are such a Mama's boy," teased Hokage-senpai, roughing Kunimitsu's shaggy head.

Kunimitsu tilted his head and skipped out of Hokage-senpai's hand. "Tezuka," he said firmly.

"Not yet, Mittsu. You're not yet worthy of that name. You have to get a ball past me first. Can you do it, Mittsu?"

"I will."

Hokage-senpai gave him an indulgent smile.

And that was how Kunimitsu ended up playing a one-game match with Hokage-senpai.

The first serve was fast and heavy. Kunimitsu could feel the strain when the ball hit his strings. He gritted his teeth and swung with all his strength. It was uncontrolled, but the ball made it over the net and landed in court. As usual, Yanagi-san was right. Kunimitsu had the most trouble with players with a lot of strength in their shots.

In two-ball rally, he lost the point. It was his turn to serve.

Hokage-senpai batted it back to him with a leisurely back hand. "You call that a serve, Mittsu? It's so slow."

Kunimitsu returned it with a flat forehand.

"Such a boring ball," taunted Hokage-senpai as he volleyed the ball back. "2-0. Five balls to go, Mittsu."

Kunimitsu went back to ready position. There must be a way to break through. The next return, he hit a high lob, aiming at the back court. The smash came back fast and sharp, cross court from his position. "3-0."

Next, Kunimitsu tried a hard sidespin lob, hoping the ball will curve to the side, making it's path harder to predict. Hokage-senpai smirked and smashed it back to him with a sidespin that bounced the ball to the side of the court. Again, out of Kunimitsu's reach. "4-0."

Kunimitsu tried a tactical approach next. He started with hard flat shots till he had Hokage-senpai defending at the baseline. Then, he dropped the ball with a soft touch, making a high but narrow arc, aimed at the front of the court. Hokage-senpai simply floated to the front and swung the ball back in a quick passing shot. "5-0. Come on, Mittsu. I don't have to smash every ball you give me to win. Try harder."

Two points left. '_Think,'_ he thought to himself. '_Be kitsune_. _Be smart. Be wise. Think, think, think, think!'_But nothing came to him. Another fast ball zoomed past him. So close he could feel the wind of its speed.

"Hey, wake up! I haven't even work up a sweat yet. At this rate, you can be home before you finish digesting breakfast."

Kunimitsu frowned. He was sure Hokage-senpai just said something not nice to him. But he wasn't sure what he should be offended with. He shook his head and told himself to concentrate on the game. He had the advantage of the next two service points. Kunimitsu raised his hand and threw the ball in the air. He hit a topspin serve.

Hokage-senpai stroked it back easily.

Kunimitsu felt he should be insulted for the easy balls. But he did not say anything. It was all he could do to chase them all over the court and hit them back. He had to hit as hard as he could or the ball would not go over the net. Hokage-senpai's balls were very heavy. He desperately lobbed the ball with both hands to buy a breathing space.

But Hokage-senpai saw it and smashed it back to Kunimitsu's position in the centre court. "Come on, Mittsu. You can't miss that. Send it back."

Kunimitsu caught the ball on his backhand just as it bounced up. The shock travelled up his hands and arms. He felt his shoulders shook by the force of the hit. It made a weak low arc and hit the net.

"Aww," said Hokage-senpai. "Match point, Mittsu. Serve up!"

Kunimitsu wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeves. Mama would have been horrified to see Kunimitsu using his sleeves. But he was too busy with tennis to remember. He remembered the 'wrong' serve he made a long time ago. He threw his ball up, waited till it fell past the proper 'normal' height for a service. Then, he jumped and hit it with a downward brush.

The ball went on a flat shallow arch, barely clearing the top of the net. Hokage-senpai went to the front, in ready position and waiting for it. But the ball floated further away, bouncing too close to his feet for him to hit properly. Hokage-senpai swept his racquet over the ball, deliberately missing it. But he did not stop. With his momentum, he continued to make a 360 degree turn and step back, bringing his racquet up from behind the ball, hitting it low with open face, the contact surface of his strings facing upwards.

Kunimitsu ran all the way from baseline to the net, barely catching the ball on the rim of his racquet before the second bounce. He swept it up the best he can, not thinking about how, what, where or even any kind of technique. It was purely instinct and body memory. The ball went up and up and up. Kunimitsu and Hokage-senpai watched it sailed cross court from Kunimitsu's side, over the net to Hokage-senpai's side. Past the centre line, past the service line, into the back court ... it looked like it was going to be out. They watched it drop straight down towards the alley, right on the singles line.

Kunimitsu blinked. Both Hokage-senpai and him exchanged looks. Speechless.

Then, Hokage-senpai began to laugh. "Ha! _That_ was an interesting shot, Mittsu. A high topspin lob! Remember that one, Mittsu. It's called a moonball. Now, heads up! It's still match point."

"Tezuka," reminded Kunimitsu.

"Ku-ni-mi-tsu," sang Hokage-senpai, sending a slice serve straight at Kunimitsu.

The ball curved from Kunimitsu's left-handed racquet into Kunimitsu's body, brushing his chin as he stepped back to avoid it.

"7-1. Game and match."

Kunimitsu and Hokage-senpai shook hands over the net. "Thank you for playing with me, senpai," said Kunimitsu with a deep bow.

"It was fun," said Hokage-senpai. "You did well, kid."

"We can go home now," said Kunimitsu in a small voice. He lost very badly, even though he finally got one point. He wasn't too happy about that.

Hokage-senpai watched the top of his shaggy down-turned head. He checked his watch. "It's only 10:30. We have two hours till your curfew. You must be the only boy with a 12:30 pm curfew," he said cheekily. "Come on. Let's make the most of it. I'll show you something."

Kunimitsu followed Hokage-senpai back into the court.

"You know, you have one good thing going for you. You don't get affected by the mental game. That's good. Players like Yanagi are going to hate you for it. But you know what your problems are?" asked Hokage-senpai conversationally. "You are kind of slow to chase the ball. So, if you want to fix that permanently, find a way to make the ball come back to you."

"Make the ball come back?"

"You're a smart kid. Figure it out yourself. Now, your serve sucks. Boring, predictable, flat."

Kunimitsu frowned. "It is proper."

"That's why it's boring. You want to have a good strong serve. A no-touch ace. Non-returnable service. And best of all, for slowpoke like you, it means you can win points without moving an inch. Isn't that wonderful?"

Kunimitsu wasn't sure about that. He liked rallies. Winning points on service meant he did not get to hit any rallies. But he should not dismiss it out of hand. It could be useful if he wanted to finish quickly or he had a hard opponent like Hokage-senpai. "How?" asked Kunimitsu.

"You need power, control and accuracy. And good judgement of distance. So, since I like you, kiddo, I'm going to show you two tricks."

"Tezuka," reminded Kunimitsu again.

Hokage-senpai ignored him to pick a large heavy stone and placed it in the middle of the court. "Now, if you can find a thick short log, it'll be better. But this will do." He placed a basket of balls off the baseline. "Stand here. Now, serve and hit the stone."

Kunimitsu looked sceptical, but did as instructed.

"Harder. You have to hit it till you can move the stone. It will force you to be accurate on where your ball will land, which angle it lands, what spin it has and a lot of power. Without power, the stone is too heavy to move. But if you hit it with just power, it still won't move unless you find the right angle. With a heavy bottom log, you should tip it over."

Kunimitsu nodded. It was harder than it looked. When he hit as hard as he could, eight out of ten times, he missed the stone completely. When he hit less hard, he only missed four out of ten times.

"Work on your accuracy first. Do it till you can hit the stone almost all the time. When you can do that, you can work on your power. Sometimes, it's not how hard your stroke is, but how you stroke it."

Hokage-senpai took the last ball from the basket and hit it at the stone. It nudged the stone a ball width away. Kunimitsu looked gratifyingly impressed.

After they collected the balls back, Hokage-senpai took him around the park. They found a tree with many low hanging leaves. He picked up a ball. Without looking at the toss, he served the ball at a hanging leaf. It touched the leaf, plucking it neatly from the thin stem. "If it's autumn, you can pick a tree that is shedding leaves. Try hitting the leaf in the air as it is dropping to the ground. It's harder, but the gardener won't be too annoyed with you for shredding his trees. Now, you do it."

The leaves swayed wherever a breeze passed through. Despite how thick the leaves were, Kunimitsu had a hard time hitting even one. Or it would flip away. The only time he could make a leaf fall was when a stray ball hit the branch, breaking it. But that did not count because it was a whole bunch of leaves, not just one.

"It's hard, isn't it?" said Hokage-senpai. "It's not power that is important here. You can't take your eyes off the leaf you are aiming for. You are forced to know where the moving ball is without looking at it. Until it becomes an automatic part of you. Then, you have to swing and hit it at a moving target. You have to be accurate. You have to have fast reflexes. And most importantly, you have to be able to predict where the moving object is going to be when your ball reached it."

"Why moving?" During service, both players would be ready, but stationary.

"Ever played someone who likes to do split step? He is moving all the time, hop hopping around. You can mess up his rhythm just by timing when you hit the ball and when the ball bounces off the court. What about a serve and volley player? They go for the rising shot and half-volley to reach the net faster. What about when the ball is in play? Both you and the other guy are running all over the place. If you can predict where he will be, where his racquet will be, where his feet are going to be, you can hit the ball to the most inconvenient places or angle. It's hard to change direction in mid-motion. It's called inertia."

Kunimitsu nodded thoughtfully.

"Now, you know what is the real fun? It's when you know something he doesn't. All you have to do is to make it looked like an easy ball, but it was actually hard to hit back. You can drive him crazy wondering why he missed or made a stupid mistake. You can get some bonus points while he is regretting and over thinking that lost point instead of paying attention to the next few balls."

"Oh. Mental." Slowly, Kunimitsu connected Yanagi-san's advice about the psychological side of tennis.

"That's right. I call it headology," said Hokage-senpai with a wink. "Just make sure you don't fall for it yourself, kiddo."

"Yes."

Hokage-senpai checked his watch. "12 noon. Come on. Let's get you home."

Kunimitsu quickly gathered up the balls and packed his gear.

Hokage-senpai took him riding around the neighbourhood. He called it taking the _scenic route _home. Kunimitsu did not see any road signs that said 'scenic route' but it seemed to involve taking the longest, most roundabout way that passed every single lane in the area. Then, Hokage-senpai told him to hold on tight. They sped down a long slope without brakes. Wind in their faces, bicycle frame rattling, half flying into the air. It was both scary and exciting. Then, they climbed back up the slope and did it again three more times, screaming as they hurtled down at break neck speed. Finally, Hokage-senpai deposited him back safely on his front gate.

"I'm going to miss you, Tezuka Kunimitsu," said Hokage-senpai. "Here. You should try this out." He gave Kunimitsu a flyer and an application form. "Remember, the only constraint is the maximum age. There's nothing in there about _minimum_ age. Think about it when you got bored and ran out of challenges."

"Yes, senpai. Thank you."

"I won't come back to Tokyo again. So, this is good bye, Kunimitsu."

"Good bye, Hokage-senpai," said Kunimitsu. In his hand, the bold print said 'Tokyo Inter-Club Junior Tennis Tournament'.

* * *

**Notes:**  
I started with Hokage as an antagonist and bully. But in the spirit of the best Japanese anime/manga story telling, where there should not be any one-dimensional pure permanent evil bad guy, it is only fitting for him to turn into one of Tezuka's mentors.  
**  
mittsu **- Pun on 2nd character of Tezuka's name Kuni-mitsu (国光). Mitsu (光 hikari) means light/ray. Mittsu (三つ) is a counter word for 3. Tezuka being the third best player in tennis class after Yanagi Reiko and Hokage.  
**Tezuka's serve **- backspin serve.  
**Hokage's last serve **- sidespin slice serve.  
**Open face **- a term for the racquet position when the string surface hitting the ball looks upward towards the sky.  
**7-point tie-break match **- Starting with Hokage's service, the person serving for points:  
- 1: Hokage  
- 2 & 3 : Kunimitsu  
- 4 & 5 : Hokage  
- 6 & 7 : Kunimitsu  
- 8 : Hokage  
**tree-stump and leaves training**- In case you're wondering, these training methods come from the manga-verse when Oishi took Tezuka for a last tour around school before he left for Kyuushuu. I don't invent them. My favourite Oishi-Tezuka moment, BTW!

**Responses to Reviews:**  
Sorry for taking so long. I have to refresh my memory on tennis technicalities and find some workable scenario. In return, it's longer than than the last few chapters. This Age arc is swinging back to being tennis oriented again.

I was supposed to upload this last week, but I had to move house again, all last minute and unplanned. Hopefully it will be last time this year. Keeping fingers crossed the current location will work out somehow.

Faoiltierna: Analytics runs in Yanagi family. Hehe! I'm so glad you noticed. I'm trying to put in bits and parts of Tezuka's play style and techniques. Sort of letting the 14-yo Tezuka slowly emerge from baby-Tezuka. Thank you for your good wishes.

literaryrxn: Kunimitsu is six and a half at this point.

Amarie-Chil: "hard-working-buchou-to-be" is a nice new nickname for little Kunimitsu. Hehe! Tezuka can't talk to girls properly, but did you notice he gets all kinds of career advancement help from women? There's his German doctor, Bavarian tennis coach, 10-yo Miyuki and Ryuuzaki-sensei who got him a 'coach' position at 14! That's an impressive line on the resume.

hitsugayataichoda: Thanks! I do take pride in keeping the story content as realistic as possible. But this is PoT we're talking about. Wish me luck trying to make anti-grav and metaphysics 'realistic'. :P


	31. Junior Tennis Tournament

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu  
Chapter 31: Tokyo Inter-Club Junior Tennis Tournament**

Tokyo Inter-Club Junior Tennis Tournament was held in Mizuyaki Club every year. It was opened to residents of Tokyo Prefecture. The participants were sponsored by their Tennis or Sports Club. There were five categories: T-8, T-10, T-12, T-15, and T-18. The minimum age of entry, regardless of category was six. Kunimitsu barely squeaked through, just having his sixth birthday last October.

His coach told Mama that it was one of the few Junior Tournaments that catered to young children. Most Junior Tournaments were for children between 13 and 18. Coach said Kunimitsu would qualify as a dependant of his Papa's club membership. Coach encouraged his Mama to enrol Kunimitsu in the tournament to give him more exposure. The tournament drew all levels of players, from beginners to intermediate. Based on last year's performance, the yearly club tournament appeared to be too limited for Kunimitsu.

So, Mama talked to Papa and soon, Kunimitsu was registered as a participant in T-8 category for ages six to eight.

"Game and match, Tezuka Kunimitsu, 7-1! Tezuka-kun will advance Preliminary Round 2."

"Game and match, Tezuka Kunimitsu, 7-4! Tezuka-kun will advance to the Quarter-Finals."

"Game and match, Tezuka Kunimitsu, 8-6! Tezuka-kun will advance to the Semi-Finals."

"Game and match, Tezuka Kunimitsu, 11-9! Tezuka-kun will advance to the Finals."

"Game and match, Tezuka Kunimitsu. The champion for Boys T-8 category is Tezuka Kunimitsu, age six. Congratulations!"

Ayana watched in disbelief as Kunimitsu fought his way up to the first place in the tournament. Kunimitsu had won every single match he played in the tournament. He gave a small satisfied smile at Ayana as one of the officials hoisted him to the top of the champion's pedestal. It was the first time a six year old had won in that category! No one had thought to make the pedestal low enough for a six-year-old to step up on.

The Mizuyaki tournament was different from Papa's club tournament. Instead of a gold medal, Kunimitsu received a gold coloured trophy. In place of a roll of certificate, Kunimitsu received an envelope with a cheque of twenty thousand yen. It did not have any interesting pictures in it, just a lot of numbers and Kunimitsu's name. Kunimitsu gave it to his Mama to keep.

The trophy was more interesting and occupied his attention the entire ride home. Finding out the top piece was attached to the base with a single screw, he managed to twist the top off. The screw dropped under the seat and Kunimitsu spent the last ten minutes crouched on the back seat floor, rooting around under his Papa and Mama's seats. Besides finding the missing screw, he found two coins, a candy and a golf ball.

The next day, Mama took Kunimitsu to the bank to open his first Savings account. The bank officer opened a flat metal box with a wet blue cushion inside. He pressed Kunimitsu's thumb on the wet cushion and stamped his thumbprint on the form. Kunimitsu stared at the circular waves his little thumb made with fascination. But the officer took the paper away too quickly and went away with Mama to do mysterious grown up things. Kunimitsu nodded when Mama told him to wait for her and not to leave his chair until Mama came back for him.

The officer left his blue inkpad on the table though. Kunimitsu pressed his thumb like the officer did earlier and stamped his own thumb on another paper with words and boxes. He figured if the man had put Kunimitsu's thumbprint on similar paper just now, it was paper meant for putting blue marks on, like the colouring books he had at home. He admired the curls and lines for a little longer. Then he noticed his other fingers have little lines too and went on to stamp the rest of his fingers. If he held all his fingertips close together, he could make a flower. Before long, he was making little patterns from his palms and knuckles. The pen cap made perfectly small round circles and the paperclips made long triangular ones.

Mama had only been away for ten minutes. But Kunimitsu had been very hard-working. He had made many stamps and pictures. Sheets of his handiwork was strewn over the table top. Both his hands were blue and he had ink on his nose and cheek.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu!" said Mama.

Kunimitsu froze in mid-motion. Kunimitsu tilted his head wondering why Mama was giving him the 'Kunimitsu is in big big trouble' kind of look. He looked down to check if he was still in his chair. His butt had not moved out of the chair yet. Even after he had wriggled a bit to remove his shoe and socks and was about to stamp his little toes.

Mama took his inkpad away and gave it back to the bank man who looked like he was about to faint. She quickly put back Kunimitsu's shoe and sock which were now sporting his blue fingerprints. She steered Kunimitsu by his elbows into the washroom and scrubbed his face and hands. He watched with great interest at the blue coloured soap suds and water that filled the basin slowly turn from dark inky blue to medium blue to light blue. It got lighter and lighter the more times Mama washed his hands. And she never washed his hands so many many times before.

When she was finished, Kunimitsu's hands were still blueish but was no longer leaving little marks on the basin and paper towels. Then, she apologised one more time to the bank officer and hurried Kunimitsu home. Kunimitsu had never seen Mama walked so fast. He was trotting and half-jogging to keep up with her.

When they arrived home, Mama closed and locked the door. But before Kunimitsu could take off his shoes and socks, she hugged him tightly and kissed his blue nose. She was shaking while she held Kunimitsu in her arms.

"Mama?" asked Kunimitsu, wondering why his Mama was acting so strangely.

"You have been a naughty naughty boy!" said Mama. Except her eyes were sparkling and her tone was soft and lilting. She kissed him again and gave in to her laughter. She laughed long and hard till she was breathless. When she finally slowed down, she said breathlessly, "I never ... I thought I was going to die trying not laugh. His face! My little blue boy! Caught you blue-handed. Your little foot ..." She shook her head at her own incoherence.

She rubbed her cheek against his little head and kissed him again. "Kunimitsu, you are Mama's naughty little boy. But Mama love you so very very much. Now, go take a bath and soak in the bath tub."

* * *

**Notes:**  
Junior Tennis Tournament formats are quite arbitrarily set for very young kids (under 12). So, the Mizuyaki tournament was different from the Club tournament of round-robin, followed by semifinals and finals. With larger number of participants, Mizuyaki is using elimination style similar to PoT's tournaments.

Savings bank accounts for young children and babies normally use thumbprint as authentication since they do not have a signature yet.

**Responses to Reviewers:**  
Hi. I know, it's been ages ( 2.5 months) since last update. RL has been crazy and frustrating. What little time and mental energy I have was been spent working on another PoT fic. Sorry I ended up neglecting little Kunimitsu for quite a bit.  
**  
****Faoiltierna**** : **Hehe! Kunimitsu is only 6.5 years old. The little kid is still far from perfect. But I can see how his perfect win official records is going to give me problems to make him realistic. Even Nadal and Federer don't have perfect win records.

hitsugayataichoda: So it does. Dun ... dun ... dun ...

**Enjie**** :** Thanks! Two days? This took me two years to write, ya know. Have mercy. Read it slower please! :D  
**  
Amarie-Chil :**Eek! Don't die and haunt me. I live in a tiny flat without an attic to rattle your chains or basement to moan in. I do have a Selangor Pewter LOTR chess set. Maybe you can haunt that like Sai did in Hikaru no Go.

**Aoe chan :**Don't worry, it was just one game. He isn't damaged in anyway, though it could be seen as foreshadowing. It's just to emphasise the six years difference between them. How I make things sound so realistic? They are just everyday ordinary observations and imagining the world from the eyes of a very young child.


	32. Father and socks

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu  
Chapter 32 : Father ****and socks**

"Aya-chan!"

Ayana turned to see her husband, Kuniharu, leaning dejectedly on the kitchen counter. "What's wrong?"

"Kunimitsu is not cute any more!"

"Ha?"

"He said ... he said ... he is not a baby any more. So, he can't call me Papa. From now on, I am Otousan. Who teach such unnecessary things to our son?"

Ayana shook her head at her husband's childishness. "He is six and half now. He is an elementary school student. 'Otousan' is fine and proper."

"Not!" protested Kuniharu vehemently.

"He is just growing up. He wants to be a big boy."

"He can grow up slower. I'm not ready to be Otousan yet."

"It's the same thing."

"Is not."

"Okaasan!" Kunimitsu called from outside. "Socks?"

"See!" said Kuniharu. "It's not cute. It's like Obasan. And that is only a step away from Obaasan!"

Ayana rapped his knuckles with a ladle. "Know your own age, jijii!" she said exasperatedly as she turned off the flame to see what Kunimitsu wanted.

Kuniharu followed her out.

" 'Kaasan, no socks." Kunimitsu had pulled out his socks drawer. It was empty. A pile of socks lay discarded by his side.

"What do you mean no socks? There are at least ten pairs in there," Kuniharu pointed at the stack.

"No good, 'Tousan. Too tight."

Kuniharu's eyebrow twitched. "Papa!"

"Otousan."

"Papa!"

" 'Tousan. 'Papa' is for babies. Sensei said so."

"Arrgh! See? That is your stubborn son," Kuniharu complained to Ayana.

Ayana looked torn between laughter and exasperation. "Don't involve me in your childish argument. Who is the big-shot manager? Who should be old enough to _negotiate _with _his_own six-year-old son."

Kunimitsu looked up at both his parents. His mother using big words meant she was not about to give in to whatever they were talking about. He pondered for a minute and decided it was not about socks.

"Socks, 'Kaasan," he reminded his mother.

Ayana took his discarded pile of socks off the floor and said, "Let's buy you new ones after lunch."

Kuniharu knelt down on the newly vacated spot. He patted Kunimitsu on the head and said, "Good boy, Kunimitsu. Say 'Paaa Paaa', Kunimitsu."

Kunimitsu looked up at his mother, then back his manically grinning father. It must be a new game. It looked like fun. "Ooo tooo uuu saaan," he said mischievously.

"Say 'Paaa Paaa', Kunimitsu. Come on. You get ice-cream if you say 'Paaa paaa'. Paaa paaa."

"Bribes? Is that how you want to raise your son?" Ayana muttered under her breath.

Kunimitsu cocked his head. He could always get ice-cream if he finished his rice and asked his mother nicely. On the other hand, he rarely get so much attention from his father. "Ooo touuu saaa maaa!" he exclaimed happily. He remembered his father called Ojiisan that. Mama said, Otousan was Kunimitsu's father. And Ojiisan was Otousan's father.

"What? No no no no! 'Paaa paaa'. Come on, Kunimitsu. You can do this when you were two! Paaa paaa."

Kunimitsu crossed his arms and thought very hard. "Chiiii chiii uuueee."

"Aaarrgghhh! Where did you learn that horrible word?" Kuniharu crossed his fingers forcefully. "It is banned! Banned! Banned in this house. Understand?"

Kunimitsu nodded his head dubiously. It didn't sound bad on TV. The samurai boy called his father 'Chichi-ue' and he did not get scolded.

"Come on, Kunimitsu. Say Paaa paaa. Say it or we won't go shopping. No socks for little Kunimitsu. You have to go school with your smelly feet!"

Ayana shook her head. "Oh? Is that how you do negotiations? Threats?"

"Shh... This is a very delicate operation. I've never negotiated with anyone under 20 before," said Kuniharu.

Kunimitsu bent in half, wrapped his hands around his ankle and raised his feet to his nose to smell his feet.

Kuniharu sat back on his heels, wincing at his acrobatics. His joints ached just by watching the boy.

After giving both his feet a good sniff, Kunimitsu leaned back and waved his toes under Kuniharu's nose as evidence. "Not smelly."

Kuniharu pinched his nose, choking and coughing and made weird faces, making the boy laugh. "Come on, Kunimitsu. Good boy, Kunimitsu. Say Papa."

Kunimitsu thought even harder. He was running out of words. He did not want to stop playing with his father yet. He looked very serious and focused. After many minutes, he brightened up. He overheard one of his senpai talking to his father outside the Principal's office before. He hoped he remembered the word correctly. "Ooo ... yaji?"

Kuniharu's eyes popped open in shock and he keeled over Kunimitsu's feet. His mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.

Maybe he remembered the word wrong, Kunimitsu thought. He was sure there was a 'ji' somewhere because he remembered he thought the boy was talking to his grandfather, but wasn't. "Ji jii ... jiii jiiii ...," he tried to jog his memory.

Ayana laughed quietly. It wouldn't do to encourage Kunimitsu to use that term. "Served you right," she said to Kuniharu.

Kuniharu moaned. "I give up! Kill me and bury me now. This boy is impossible."

Kunimitsu clapped his hands and piled on top of his writhing Otousan in triumph. "Kunimitsu win!"

"It's this accursed age! I told you. Six is a bad bad bad number," moaned Kuniharu. He grabbed Kunimitsu and wrestled him around the floor, rolling up and down the room. When he had pinned Kunimitsu by his hands and knees, he looked at the boy in the eye. "From now on, you are SEVEN. Understand? How old are you?"

Kunimitsu thought for a moment. Seven was more than six. Takuya-kun in his class was seven and bigger than any boy in the class. "Seven!"

"Good boy. You will never ever be six ever again!" With that, he grabbed an arm and a leg and heaved Kunimitsu over his shoulders. He felt Kunimitsu relax in anticipation of a kata guruma throw. "Hahaha! Your papa still have a few tricks left, little boy!" laughed Kuniharu. He did not complete the throw. Instead, he held on to Kunimitsu in a fireman's carry and carted the boy downstairs draped over his shoulders.

"Otousan!" Kunimitsu reminded his father.

"Papa!"

"Otousan!"

"Papa!"

"What are you doing?" Kunikazu had come in to investigate the noise.

"It's a father and son thing," said Kuniharu frivolously, dumping Kunimitsu on the sofa with an easy flip.

"Otoooousan!" exclaimed Kunimitsu on the way down.

"Papa!"

Kunikazu exchanged glances with Ayana, who shrugged nonchalantly. She was not getting involved with their argument. Kunikazu looked back at the two younger Tezukas. "Both of you! Settle this now or no lunch!" With that, he turned back to his gardening outside.

Kunimitsu's tummy growled at the mention of food.

Kuniharu grinned. "Can you smell that, little boy? Mama's cooking smell so delicious. You want to eat don't you? Hmm … there's pudding for dessert. You like pudding, right?"

Kunimitsu nodded.

"It's very simple. You just have to throw away this silly idea about 'Otousan' and say 'Papa'. That is all. Simple, right?"

Kunimitsu stopped nodding. He tilted his head and furrowed his brow in deep thought. He shook his head. "Otousan," he said with the resoluteness of the righteous and just.

"This boy is stubborn," muttered Kuniharu to Ayana.

"He is his father's son," replied Ayana serenely.

Kuniharu grabbed a cushion and pinned the squirming Kunimitsu in the sofa. "You know what happens to little boys who don't eat their rice? They don't get bigger. They get smaller and skinnier and skinnier until they are all bones. Then they become ghosts! You want to be a ghost, boy?"

"Okaasan!" Kunimitsu called for his reinforcement, squirming his best to escape the sandwich.

Ayana sighed. If Kuniharu gave the boy nightmares, she would be up all night soothing him. She pulled Kuniharu's ear to get his attention.

"Ow-ow-ow-oww!"

"You are the _mature adult_! Ne-go-ti-ate at truce. Something you both can agree on," she said sweetly before going back to her cooking.

"That was a dirty trick," growled Kuniharu at the smug boy. "All right, I'll let you up if you don't yell for Mama again. Deal?"

Kunimitsu nodded solemnly.

"Now, ahem!" Kuniharu cleared his throat and schooled his face into seriousness. "I am willing to forgo 'Papa' if you are willing to abandon 'Otousan'. You are a hundred years too young to call me that."

"No 'Papa'?" said Kunimitsu with single-mindedness.

"No 'Papa'. No 'Otousan'. Okay?"

Kunimitsu nodded warily.

"Okay. How about we settle for … 'Papa-chan'?"

Kunimitsu crossed his arm and shook his head fiercely. "Otou-chan?" he mimicked his father tentatively. He chewed his lip testing the sound. "Otou-chan ..." he repeated in earnest - head tilted, eyes shinning brightly, hair falling messily over his wide forehead.

"I'm slain!" said Kuniharu plaintively. Unable to hold himself any longer, he abandoned all serious business and grabbed the boy in a big hug.

"Otou-chan?"

"Aaa! My Kunimitsu is so adorable!"

Ayana shook her head at the antics of the utterly besotted father.

When they finally sat down for lunch, Ojiisan said to Kuniharu, "Have you confirmed the arrangements?"

Kuniharu nodded. "Aa. One week in Aomori snow mountains cabin. My leave have also been approved."

Ojiisan nodded.

Ayana smiled and told Kunimitsu, "We are going to the snow mountains for holidays!"

"Holidays?"

"Yes, for Kunimitsu's school winter break. Because Kunimitsu had been a good boy and did very well in tennis."

There was much excited discussions at the table. All about arrangements and bookings and shopping for winter clothes and cold-weather gear. None of which made any sense to Kunimitsu. But as they came to the end of lunch, Kunimitsu still had not heard something that concerned him very much. He tilted his bowl of miso soup and licked the last piece of wakame from the bowl. Then, he slithered down from his chair and tugged on his mother's skirt.

"Okaasan. Don't forget socks," he reminded her solemnly.

Ayana smiled at his simple one-tracked mind. "Yes, Kunimitsu. We won't forget socks. Go wash your hands and tell Otou-chan to get ready."

Tezuka men, as far as Ayana had observed, were utterly oblivious to fashion. They did not seem to mind having ten pieces of the same clothes and wearing it every day. If Ayana had not laid out Kuniharu and Kunimitsu's clothes every morning, they would have happily plucked the first item from the closet to wear. Nevermind that red polka-dot tie did not match yellow-green checked shirt and blue pants.

But when Kuniharu got it into his head to buy clothes for little Kunimitsu, he suddenly acquired intense interest in children's fashion. However, true to the Tezuka nature, Kuniharu still have absolutely no fashion sense whatsoever, despite his enthusiasm. She sighed as she picked through the shopping basket, putting back the socks with frilly lacy borders and pink flowers. Any form of tassels, lace or ribbons would not survive five minutes on an active little boy like Kunimitsu. She had to be thorough and on her guard. Because - what was worse – Kunimitsu, having inherited the Tezuka trait, would wear them without a second thought.

She shuddered, thinking of the first time she met her husband. She was a junior accountant assigned to carry out external auditing of Kuniharu's company. As the assistant manager, he had been assigned to provide whatever documents she required as well as acting as go-between for the other staff members. For two whole weeks she was there, he wore exactly the same suit, from his tie down to his socks and shoes. She would have dismissed it as her imagination, had the shirt not been a peculiar shade of lavender. Not that it was ugly, just unusual.

By the end of the first week, she was intrigued enough to sniff discreetly him to see if he actually wore the same shirt for a week. It was utterly mysterious to her that he only smelled of clean soap and light cologne. In the second week, she could not help 'accidentally' squirting him with her coffee just to see if he would wear a different shirt the next day. He did not. It was the same lavender shirt, except, there was no coffee-stain on it.

On the last day, thinking she would never see him again, now that her job was done, she had to ask. That was when he told her how much he hated shopping for clothes. In a moment of pure genius, he thought to buy ten pieces of everything so he would not have to look at another shelf for as many years as those clothes lasted! Ayana shook her head in amusement. Apparently, those shirts were originally white. But a forgotten ink refill in the washing machine had turned them consistently and permanently lavender.

She should be grateful for small miracles. Despite having absolutely no fashion sense, Tezuka men seemed to have a heightened sense of personal hygiene. They were fastidiously neat and clean, if somewhat spartan. Considering some of the more fashionable, but slovenly ex-suitors she had encountered, she was truly relieved to know that little fact when he started courting her in earnest. A man's wardrobe was easier to change than his habits.

Ayana took out a fresh batch of shorts and shirts from the basket behind Kuniharu's back. Some, she returned. Others, she exchanged for one to two sizes bigger than the ones Kuniharu had chosen. Otherwise, at the rate Kunimitsu was outgrowing his clothes, they would be repeating this process every month.

Kunimitsu followed behind them silently and obediently. He hugged ten pairs of school regulation white socks to his chest with fierce concentration. Ayana had staggered them in three sizes for him. The moment she handed them to him, he guarded them carefully. There was no way they would go home without his socks. Little Kunimitsu was well on his way to becoming a full-fledged Tezuka!

* * *

**Note:**

Okaasan - Mother  
Obasan - Auntie, or address for adult woman. Young women (especially single ladies) finds it unacceptable as it implies matronly women. (why Shiba got offended by Kirihara Akaya)  
Obaasan - Grandmother, or address for elderly woman  
Jijii - (derogatory) geezer, or old man

Terms of address for Father :  
- Otousan (Commonly used. Normal, formal and respectful.)  
- Tousan (short, less formal then Otousan)  
- Otousama (very respectful and distant. Not common)  
- Oyaji (informal, impolite, equivalent to 'Old Man'. Ryoma uses this term for Nanjirou.)  
- Otou-chan, Tou-chan (-chan makes it cute and informal. Commonly used by young girls.)  
- Chichi-ue (archaic, very formal, very polite. Very uncommon.)

kata guruma - Shoulder wheel Judo throw which _uke_ is lifted up to _tori's_ shoulder behind _tori's_head, and then dropped forward. It is based on fireman's carry.

Social learning theory - Learning from observation does not necessarily alter behaviour (learning words like oyaji and chichi-ue). Learning by modelling or imitating Kuniharu's stretched vowels.

School life - Once children began mixing with other children in school environment, they will learn and influence each other. Parents and teachers are not always able to filter and control what information and behaviours they learn from their peers.

The six-year old is learning to understand himself. He is egocentric and wants attention. He wants the "best" and "first." May be oppositional, silly, brash, and critical. Language skill is increasingly sophisticated and vocabularies increased rapidly. The child has unpredictable preferences and strong refusals. Is generally rigid, negative, demanding, inflexible. Drive toward independence.

First grade is also often the year when peer pressure makes its first appearance in a child's life. Children begin to observe their friends more closely and mimic the play styles of others.

* * *

Responses to Reviewers

Faoiltierna: Hehe ... Adults have no idea the kind of enterprise kids can get into with the most innocent everyday objects.

Enjie: I'll try to speed up the time line, esp around his 8-9 range. But I had planned the story to end at the point Tezuka enters Seigaku.

Amarie-chil: May I say ... your brother has great taste :D. No, Mama won't let him eat old candy. He gets new one in exchange.

Aoe chan : The pedestal was not higher than him, but high enough that he had to clamber up on his hands and knees. Rather undignified for the little champion, eh? :D I won't comment on Ojiisan's involvement in tennis. There is a build up for Tezuka's 10-year-old drama/clash coming, but I will drop hints about his attitude towards tennis from time to time.

dimonyo-anghel, hitsugayataichoda, Ashatara, AngelLove6392 : Thank you. :D


	33. Trip to Hokkaido

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu  
Chapter 33 : Trip to Hokkaido  
**

Kunimitsu swiped the beanie hat off his head yet again. He did not like having things on his head, including any kind of hat. Like clockwork, five minutes after his mother put it on his head, he would take if off again.

The air out in the mountains was strong and chilly. As far as the eye could see, the slopes were blinding white with thick snow, punctuated with deep greens of pines and skeletal white trunks and branches. The leafless trees made it easy to sport bird nests, which his father pointed out to him as they passed by. They looked like messy ball of twigs to Kunimitsu's eyes and he thought those birds must not be very good at keeping things neat and tidy at home.

He fumbled with the focus of his little binoculars as his father pointed in another direction. His fingers were warmer but clumsy in their thick gloves. His cheeks were red and growing numb.

"Snow foxes!" said Otouchan excitedly, pointing out a pair of white blurs that were barely distinguishable from the surrounding snow.

Ojiisan held on to the back of Kunimitsu's thick winter jacket as he leaned over the railing to have a closer look. The ski-lift swayed with his movement, countered by another gust of wind. But Kunimitsu was not affected by the swaying. He shifted his balance comfortably back and forth as he tried to keep his binoculars trained on a white patch of ground.

In a second or two, the foxes were hidden behind a stand of pine trees. Kunimitsu put his binoculars down carefully on his lap, feeling its weight. It was a new toy that his father bought for him just for the trip, so Kunimitsu had to take good care of it. He had to wear the strap around his neck all the time and made sure it did not bang against the frame of the ski-lift when he put it down.

He wriggled around as another cold wind blew through the mountain side. He snuggled closer to Ojiisan and buried his cold, cold nose into Ojiisan's warm woolen scarf. He could smell Ojiisan's musky scent, mixed with the fragrance of sandalwood from the incense of the shrine they visited at the foot of the mountain. At least his nose seemed to be working, even if he couldn't feel anything on it. He was so cold, even the warmest part of his body felt just slightly less than frozen.

Before long, Kunimitsu's mother put his hat back on his head and buttoned up his chin strap. And his father hoisted him out of the warmth of Ojiisan's side. They had arrived at their destination.

Kunimitsu gritted his teeth and tried to keep his toes pointed the same direction. His skis seemed to have a mind of their own as they tried to cross into each other and trip him up. He wasn't cold any more, now that he was too busy concentrating and moving around. His mother kept pace with him, encouraging him every few meters, as they made their way down the beginner slope.

Kunimitsu's father and grandfather had left them behind to do their own scouting around the area. But when Kunimitsu reached the bottom, they were waiting for him to join them for dinner. His father had a map marked with hiking routes while his grandfather had camping and fishing gear. Kunimitsu was pleased to sit down in the warm restaurant and slurp up steaming seafood soba noodle soup.

The next morning, Kunimitsu woke up to the smell of fried wakasagi. His grandfather had went out ice fishing in the middle of night and came home in the morning with a bucket of small fishes full of eggs. After breakfast, he went hiking and ice-climbing with his father, followed by another ski lesson with his mother. This became Kunimitsu's daily routines during the trip.

On the evenings, he played snowball fights with the kids in the next chalet. His father also took them to see the gigantic and beautiful ice sculptures that Hokkaido was famous for. When the next door family went home, his father helped Kunimitsu find new activities to occupy him. They made many many tiny snowmen soldiers and lined them up in rows on the driveway. Then they took turns rolling a frozen rockmelon through the ranks of snowmen, trying to knock down as many as they could. They got scolded when his mother found out and went without dessert, because his mother refused to serve frozen rockmelon that had been rolling on the dirty icy driveway all day long.

By the end of the trip, Kunimitsu was a decent, if shaky skier. He had learned basics of ice-climbing. He even tried ice fishing at midnight, long past his bed time. But he didn't last long, before he curled up next to the hole drilled in the ice in the middle of a frozen lake under a domed-shaped tent with a hole in the floor. He fell asleep to the sound of live fish being thrown into a bucket of water.

Hokkaido was much much colder than Tokyo. Even though he enjoyed himself very much, he wished he was back at home, snuggled under the kotatsu with a hot cup of tea. He missed tennis. But tennis season was over until next Spring. After the Mizuyaki tournament, coach enrolled him into another club tournament by Mizuyaki at Kantou level. The competitions there were harder, but Kunimitsu managed to win his category by close margins. Okaasan was very proud of him. She cleared a shelf space in Otouchan's study for his medals and throphies. His tennis ones on one side, his judo ones on the other.

With his school team, Kunimitsu won the Junior judo tournaments at Regional and Prefecture level. They lost in the second round of Kantou level. Kunimitsu was happy to add two gold trophies on the judo side, along with a silver medal for long distance running during Sports Day. More importantly, though there wasn't anything to put on the shelf, was Ojiisan had started him on new trainings, in preparation for his 4-kyu grading examination.

Even though he did not say it, he was a little worried Ojiisan would stop all his judo since he joined the school club. But Ojiisan focussed on his zazen and basic strength trainings every morning. It took Kunimitsu a long time to realise Ojiisan only spent time on trainings that were not provided by his school Judo Club. He only realised that after the school had stopped club activities for the year.

Ojiisan brought him back to the Mokudan dojo to continue his lessons. He ran Kunimitsu through all the techniques that Kunimitsu knew to gauge his progress. Kunimitsu felt it was more like Ojiisan was measuring how far Kunimitsu had deteriorated. He spent days on a single technique, practising it over and over again until Ojiisan was satisfied that he had gotten rid of any bad habits he had picked up in the year. Every posture, every shift of weight, angle of arm and leg, every grip and speed of sweep. Everything had to be perfected into exact, clean and neat execution.

Every motion had a reason and a meaning. Some were just plain common-sense. Some were too complicated for Kunimitsu to understand. It was frustrating, but he tried his best to take Ojiisan's advice to heart. It was okay if he did not understand everything. As long as he kept trying and not give up, eventually, he would. Kunimitsu knew it was Ojiisan's way of telling him that it simply a matter of time. Someday, it would make sense. Kunimitsu, in his heart, felt that was the world telling him he was too young and too small.

Unknown to Kunimitsu, this pattern of judo training would continue for many years. It was the beginning, that would eventually led him to understand that Ojiisan was trying to show him two different sides of judo: judo as a competitive sport, and Judo as a way of life. However, subconsciously, that idea had taken root in his young malleable mind. That differentiation, between tangible competition and intangible spiritual meaning of a sport, that Kunimitsu was still too young to recognise, would eventually shape his tennis and his choices in life.

**Note:**

A _kotatsu_ (炬燵) is a low, wooden table frame covered by a futon, or heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits. Underneath is a heat source, often built into the table itself. Kotatsu are used almost exclusively in Japan.

Judo translates as "gentle way". Gentle does not imply submissiveness or apathy. Judo is categorised as a soft martial arts, that does not oppose direct force with force, but deflects and/or takes advantage of it to end conflict without aggression or harm.

Ice fishing is a relatively popular activity in Hokkaido. Small (3 inches) holes are drilled through the ice on frozen lake. It is common for fishermen to build a tent over the hole and fish 'indoors' in relative comfort.

_wakasagi_ - freshwater smelt native to Japan. This small fish is normally caught in ice fishing. It is usually fried or grilled and eaten whole. (Changed from shishamo, which is saltwater smelt)

**Responses to Reviewers:**

I'm in hurry to post in time for a reader's birthday before I get back to my assignments, so I'll keep this short. I will try to update as often as I can. Going back to school is more hectic than work life. It is easier to write Papa and Mama, I wished I could keep them until Tezuka turned 12. But the boy is growing up and the circumstances made it a good place to start making the switch.

Many thanks to all reviewers and lurking readers who Fav and Alert this story.

Faoiltierna: Kuniharu would get along with Momo and Eiji. They are extroverts like him too.

Enjie: Thank you. I do my best. Hope the twins liked Kunimitsu's stories. I'm flattered you are sharing them out.

Aiku, Amarie-Chil: Thank you.

AGreySwan: Thank you for finally reviewing. :D I'm happy to hear AOYTK is good enough to be re-read.

Aoe chan: Happy birthday. Hope you enjoyed the evolved game from Paper Museum.

Valyruie, Azh Hikari: Hello, new readers. Thank you for reading AOYTK.

**Announcement:** If you're checking Glimpses timeline against this AoYTK, you'd notice there isn't any 8 year old Glimpse. So, I'm opening the 8 year old (Elementary 2) for requests. Leave a review or drop me a PM.


	34. Up, Down, and Under (aka Tooth Fairy)

**Adventures of Young Tezuka Kunimitsu**

**Chapter 34: Up, Down, and Under**

Kunimitsu sat quietly by the staircase that led to the third floor, where the Year Five and Six students have their classrooms. As a Year One, it was inappropriate for him to go the the upper floors without a chaperone or an official business. But Yanagi Reiko's class was up there and Kunimitsu knew that she would usually use this staircase after the Student Council meeting adjourned.

Most of the students had gone home. Only a few, with after-school activities lingered in the empty classrooms and corridors, leaving in ones and twos. He was quite alone in that landing, realising that the Student Council ran later than most club practices.

He was bored. He sat on the last step while waiting for Yanagi-san and pulled out his Japanese homework. He had to memorise, read and write twenty Kanji characters for next week.

As he sounded each character slowly, he rubbed his overly-warm and reddened left cheek thoughtfully and pressed his tongue against his top front teeth. It wobbled and swung out like a top-hinged door, eliciting a slight stinging pain. Even if it hurts to touch, but not much, he could not help but poke at it again.

He had Judo Club practice earlier. They had grappling practise with students of all ages paired off and wrestling on the mat. A flailing foot from the pair next to him kicked him on the cheek. The impact smacked his face against the floor, leaving him with a loose tooth. After the coach checked him out (and declared he was slightly bruised, but fine) and the nurse patched him up (with some cold compress), he was dismissed from practise too early. Now, he had too much time to wait for Yanagi-san to come down.

It was his last delivery for this special day in the middle of March. The box he had was about palm-sized and white. It was tied with red ribbon with a round green tennis ball card. He had about fifteen of those boxes, though each had a different card. His mother had let him pick and choose them himself from the stationery shop. Mika-chan's had been a pink sakura flower and Sayuri-chan's was a silver star. There were brown teddy-bears, yellow moons, orange suns, blue aeroplanes, dark green leaves and rainbow flowers too. But only Yanagi-san's chocolate had a light green tennis ball.

Finally, he heard footsteps and voices coming down the stairs. Yanagi-san was with another Year Six student, Kanda-senpai, captain of the Drama team. Kanda-senpai was talking very loudly while Yanagi-san looked like she was coldly ignoring him.

Kunimitsu stood backed up against the banister, half-hidden by the wooden railings. Kanda-senpai was tall, dark, popular and scary. Not because he was much bigger than Kunimitsu. Kunimitsu's judo team captain was bigger and heavier, but he was not scary at all, not to Kunimitsu anyway. Kanda-senpai was scary in a slick threatening kind of way that Kunimitsu did not like.

Kanda-senpai caught sight of Kunimitsu waiting for Yanagi-san. He advanced on Kunimitsu, looming over him. "Get los- Urk!".

Before he reached Kunimitsu, Yanagi-san snapped. She grabbed his tie and jerked him down to her eye-level. He made an odd choking sound when she twisted the tie. "The Council had decided. We are done here. Now, go home! If you continue with this behaviour, my next proposal will be cancelling the club's fund-raising event."

Yanagi-san was so brave, full of fire, and in control, he would have given her his heart if he still had it. But Kunimitsu's heart was in his mother's safe-keeping. His father told him Kunimitsu was not allowed to give away his heart until he is seventy. But Okaasan pinched his Otouchan's ear and told him not to be silly, so maybe that did not count. Kunimitsu nodded to himself and thought that was logical. Otouchan was just being silly. Kunimitsu had given his heart to Okaasan. It meant forever. He would not give it to someone else. It was bad manners to take back a gift.

Still, Kunimitsu thought, that bright red heart-shaped gift-card would have been a perfect card for Yanagi-san. Red was the colour of bravery and Yanagi-san was very brave and full of passion. But it was only that one time Kunimitsu had seen her so. Most of the time, Yanagi-san was cool and wise – a fresh mysterious green.

Kunimitsu thought it best to ignore Kanda-senpai, like Yanagi-san did, and get on with his business. "Happy White Day and congratulations on winning the Science Quiz, Yanagi-san." Kunimitsu presented the box of white chocolate that his mother prepared for Yanagi-san.

"Thank you, Tezuka-kun." Yanagi-san took the box and leaned down to peck him on the cheek. "There! Now you can brag that you are the only boy who won a kiss from the Student Council President." She eyed Kanda-senpai while she said, "Unlike some boys, Tezuka-kun is so polite and sweet. If a well-behaved boy like Tezuka-kun were to ask for extra funding politely and reasonably, instead of acting like a demanding and threatening bully, the Council might just be favourable to his request."

Kanda-senpai's face turned red and he went off without saying anything.

"Yes, some boys are just not cute," she muttered. Then, she stroked Kunimitsu's reddened cheek and asked, "What happened to your face? Did you forget a girl's chocolate?"

"Kenta-senpai kicked me."

"You stole his girlfriend with nicer White Day chocolates?"

Kunimitsu shook his head. How did one steal girl-friends anyway? "Cannot steal girl-friends, Yanagi-san. Girls have legs, and they don't belong to anyone. Things with legs can run away and unsteal themselves."

Yanagi-san laughed. "You have such wise and deep thoughts, Tezuka-kun. So, how did you get kicked by a boy?"

"Judo. Accident." He showed Yanagi-san his loose tooth as evidence, pushing it with his tongue so it stood out.

"Oh my! That looks ready to fall off. Are you going to pull it out?"

Kunimitsu shook his head. He was not ready. He was rather attached to his swinging tooth. He thought it would be interesting to show his mother.

Yanagi-san patted him sympathetically. "I see. Well, it will come off when you are ready. Then, you can put it under your pillow and the Tooth Fairy will exchange it for money or a present."

"Tooth Fairy?" Kunimitsu tilted his head curiously. As always, Yanagi-san knows all kinds of surprising things. "But I threw mine away high up the sky..." Maybe it was because his tooth got thrown away that the Tooth Fairy cannot find him and give him his gift.

"Make sure you tell your Okaasan about the Tooth Fairy and where you are hiding it under your pillow before you sleep," Yanagi-san said with a wink. "I think the current exchange rate is 100 yen."

Tezuka Ayana, Kunimitsu's mother was quite perplexed when the little boy told her he did not want to bury his top front tooth. Instead, he wanted to keep it under his pillow. He was going to stay awake all night to see the Tooth Fairy when she came for his tooth. He will explain to her that he did not know he was supposed to leave his tooth under the pillow. She should have informed all the little boys and girls properly ahead of time. As it was, since he had thrown away two perfectly good teeth before this one, she owed him 200 yen in arrears and 100 yen for the new one. Also, would she also like adult teeth? Kunimitsu was sure, if he asked nicely, his 90-year old neighbour, Shimizu-obaasan, would be happy to give him her teeth. He was sure Obaasan did not get the message from the Tooth Fairy either. After all, Obaasan kept her lost teeth in a glass.

Even though his Otouchan and Okaasan tried to explain to him Tooth Fairy was just a story, Kunimitsu was determined to test his theory. It was a scientific experiment. Besides, he had nothing to lose, and 300 yen to gain. He could get a nice set of Doraemon string dampeners for his racquet for 300 yen.

Kunimitsu carefully kept watch in bed. His Okaasan and Otouchan were very interested in his experiment as well. He could hear them walking outside his room and peeking in a few times. But the Tooth Fairy did not come. Alas, his eyes get heavier and heavier and closed on their own, despite his best efforts.

When he woke up the next morning, there was 300 yen under his pillow and a note.

_Dear Kunimitsu,_

_ Thank you for saving your baby teeth for me. I hope you spend your rewards wisely._

_The Tooth Fairy_

_p.s. The Tooth Fairy Association does not accept adult teeth. They no longer have children's magical power._

Yanagi-san was right! From now on, Kunimitsu will save his teeth for the Tooth Fairy.

The next morning, after Kunimitsu had gone to school, Ayana buried his teeth under the house.

* * *

**Notes:**

Valentine's Day and White Day – In Japan, Valentine's Day is celebrated by the girls giving chocolates or small gifts to the boys. White Day (March 14) is celebrated by boys giving chocolates/gifts to the girls in return (with the value of the gift reflecting the boy's feelings towards the girl). There are two types of gifts, _giri_ and _honmei_, roughly translated as _obligation/duty_ and _real-feelings_. _Giri_ chocolates are platonic chocolates given to friends and colleagues. _Honmei_ chocolates are given to their love interest or as unspoken confession of love interest to the recipient. Naturally, Yanagi Reiko and Kunimitsu, being mentor and protégé, exchanged _giri_ chocolates.

Baby or Milk teeth – Teething begins from age 6 months to 3 years. Shedding of baby teeth occurred between age 6 to 12. By 12 years old, only permanent teeth remained.

Teeth and Japanese tradition – When a child looses a lower baby tooth, it is thrown up onto the roof. If it is an upper tooth, it is thrown underneath the space below the floor of a Japanese house (en-no-shita). In urban areas, this evolved into burying the tooth in the garden or a pot. It is done so that the upper tooth grows downwards, while the lower tooth upwards.

Tooth Fairy – Tooth Fairy is a fairly recent invention, probably based on the 'tooth mouse' that exchanges the tooth under the pillow with a coin, candy or small gift. This tradition still exists in Mexico and some European countries. The tooth fairy first made its appearance in a children's play by Esther Watkins Arnold, 1927, called 'The Tooth Fairy'.

Tezuka (7 years old) is in transition between to Pre-operational and Concrete Operational stages of cognitive development. He easily believed fantastical stories on one hand, while showing reasoning and logical ability in the other.

**Response to reviewers:**

It's been more than a year since last chapter! Wow! Sorry for the long long wait. This chapter is brought to you by request of Aoe chan. Happy belated birthday.

Faoiltierna : School is over now and I have unlimited internet again. Life is good. Unlimited internet access should be a basic human right. *sagenod*

Aoe chan: Yes, it was rather rushed. The whole trip events would be better with more elaborations. I was thinking of the chapter as the final chapter for that school year. It really stumped me (hence 1 year gap) because I needed to deal with Yanagi Reiko and end of Year 1 for Tezuka.

BrightBlueSkye: Thank you. Tezuka is kind of serious as 14-year-old, so I use some of his characteristics in little Tezuka. Writing Tezuka as a child is more flexible than writing adolescent Tezuka because as a child, he would still have child-like behaviour that adolescent Tezuka would not display.

Valyruie: Thank you. I will continue to write more.

Talia: You're welcome. I am really happy to hear you enjoyed the interesting facts as much I enjoyed writing them. It means one of my goals for writing has been achieved – Fiction can be educational and a fun way to learn. (It's my guilty pleasure/reason for reading hard science fictions :D)

Darkninja5: You brought out a really good point! At 7, Kunimitsu did not have glasses yet. He will, around 9 or 10. Being visually impaired is really tough (especially when you don't know that you are as a first-timer). You are not jumping the gun. I have later Judo chapters with details like removing them before sparring. You have inspired me to work in some new details for this life event. But you might have to wait a long long time before I get to that part.


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